Kōtōgakkō 6: The NotSoTomboyish Side Of Kaoru
by Rogue Sprite
Summary: Kaoru answers him.
1. Kiss and Run!

**Setting: **Modern high school, everyone's the same age.

**Despite what you might think, this is my story, that I've transferred from one of my old accounts. If you've read it, well good for you, if you haven't, enjoy.**

Kanpai!

_Italics_ denote thoughts of the character. It's easy to figure out which thoughts belong to who.

* * *

Disclaimer: I dont own Rurouni Kenshin 

**Kiss and Run!**

The sun was bright as Kaoru walked towards the school with her books in hand. She chatted merrily with Misao and Megumi about what they did during summer vacation as they walked into the gates. The timbre chime of the school bells was a welcome sound to Kaoru's ears after two months of absolute boredom. She contented herself with the fact that at least she was able to earn money, unlike her friends who had spent it all on surfing lessons and … ahem… on the surfers themselves.

Kenshin was by the gate listening to Sano gab away until a keen flash of black hair distracted him. He immediately turned around and finally saw the girl whom he dreamed about all summer. She had grown a little and her arms showed the toned muscles that came with her work. Kenshin had never seen her in anything but the school uniform, but he still melted at the sight of her. Her skirt was a little shorter now that she had grown and her chest filled her shirt…

"Himura! Are you listening to me?" Sano waved a hand in front of the Kenshin, waking him from his fantasies. "Kaoru Kamiya? Hey Himura, why are you staring—" Sano wasn't able to finish his question for Kenshin was already marching towards the group of girls.

"Kamiya," he waved confidently. _Its now or never, and I've been waiting for a year._

"Himura, how nice to see you again." She nodded at him sweetly, her smile paralyzing him.

_She looks so beautiful..._

"Is there something wrong?" Kaoru frowned at the slightly pale boy in front of her.

"Not at all," Kenshin said shaking his head to clear his mind. _Why is this so hard? I better get it over with before I lose myself._ "Kamiya, how was your summer?"

"Great! I worked at the Akabeko, cleaning for Tae, washing dishes and such." Kaoru didn't mention that she can't cook, she didn't think it was necessary since she and Himura were nothing but acquaintances. Kenshin nodded and proceeded to come closer to her, eyeing her face with caring amethyst eyes. "Um Kenshin…" Kaoru backed away, feeling uncomfortable by the sudden proximity of his body.

Misao, Megumi, and Sano stood somewhere to the side watching the development. It was somewhat common knowledge that Himura liked Kamiya. Common to all except for the stupid tanuki herself. All of them shared one thought: _He's finally making a move! Dumb mutt took too long. _Sano made a silly grin at Megumi and Megumi returned a knowing smirk. Misao just looked on with puppy eyes at the two.

"So romantic!" Misao exclaimed softly.

"Kaoru," Kenshin took her hands, consciously calling her by her first name.

"Will you go out with me?"

Sano, Megumi, and Misao all fell to the ground thinking the same thoughts: _Moron! Too sudden! _

"………………………………" Kaoru furrowed her brow in deep thought. Tension started to build. "Ah Himura, you're such a joker!" she finally exclaimed after a minute passed.

Sano, Megumi, and Misao sunk further into the ground.

"I'm not joking, Kaoru...I--"

"Ahahahahahah, Jou-chan, excuse Himura over here. I'm afraid I gave him sake for breakfast." Sano went to his friend's rescue, giving him a headlock and dragging him away. But Kenshin wasn't one to give up so easily and struggled free to reclaim Kaoru's hand.

"Kaoru…?" He wanted an answer, and he wanted it now.

"Himura, I… don't know. This is too sudden. I still think it's a joke..." Kaoru shook her head in incredulity. She sized up Himura once again. "Are you on a bet? Don't toy with me Himura, its not funny." Her eyes flashed fury as she pulled her hand away.

"I'm not joking," Kenshin said weakly, his hands shaking from the icy glare that Kaoru regarded him with.

"It's the first day of school!"

"I've liked you since last year…I thought you'd know" He said it so easily Kaoru almost didn't catch the weight of the statement. Kenshin's eyes furrowed, _Wasn't it obvious enough?_

"WHA—"

"By the time I realized it, school was about to end and you were so busy at the Akabeko. I promised myself I'd ask you out the moment I saw you this year." Kenshin would have gone on babbling had it not for Sano's curious tendency to shove a hand into Kenshin's mouth.

"………" Kaoru digested this piece of news. _Flattering? Yes. Practical? No_. She intended to spend most of her time on studies and clubs. "I'm sorry Hi—" But Misao had headlocked Kaoru before she delivered the blow.

"Ehehehe…she'll think about it Himura-kun." Megumi winked at the two as she ran after Misao dragging away a struggling Kaoru to class.

"Ouch…" Sano playfully elbowed the redhead by him, who had his hands in his pockets and his face downcast.

* * *

Mathematics. Homeroom was quiet as death. Everybody had been watching the exchange between the raven-haired girl and the amber-swathed boy. Everybody knew the boy liked the girl. He would stare at her in class during second semester of last year, while all the other girls stared at him—except for the raven-haired girl. The girls sighed. Even if they wanted to cut in on Kenshin, they respected Kaoru enough to leave him be. Plus, he was way cuter when he was in love. 

"Himura?" The teacher tapped his feet on the ground. Kenshin jerked up at the sound of his name.

"Ha—hai!?"

"Please focus. Solve this problem on the board." Kenshin stood up and started writing with a small piece of chalk. He finished and looked expectantly at the teacher.

"You haven't been practicing Himura, or you haven't been listening. There's an error." The teacher waved Kenshin aside. Professor Seijuro would always give him particularly hard problems that involved conjugates and on-the-side calculations. "Would anyone like to help Himura out? Ah, yes, Kamiya. Up and center please."

"Oh no sir, I just needed to go to the bathroom." Kamiya said, as she stood up. She liked this teacher and the teacher liked her. She was a good mathematician and a girl. Hiko liked smart girls.

"But who will rescue Himura? He's going to have to stay there until he gets it right."

"Sir, I'm a little desperate!" She whispered a little urgenly and looked up at Hiko with pleading eyes.

"Eh.. if you insist. Come back quickly so Himura won't faint," The teacher said as she walked out. Moments passed and no one dared to even move for they all saw the determined grim frown that settled on the redhead's mouth. The teacher smirked, as if daring the pupil to try what he was thinking. Finally Kaoru walked in, which released a fit of relieved sighing from the whole class room.

"Ok, I'm ready." She took the chalk from Kenshin's fingers and started writing down as she told the class her thought-process. As she was talking, the teacher had a discrete visitor and left the room. As she taught the class single-handedly, Kenshin looked at her admiringly, keeping his face straight and attentive. That was until he looked down at her skirt.

A piece of tissue was hanging from the inside of her skirt, barely long enough to see but it was apparent enough. He started to blush. "Um, Kaoru?"

"You know I don't really appreciate the liberty you're taking with my name Himura." She was still a little upset about that morning. She was informed of his true feelings of her again by Misao and Megumi (with none of the politeness that Himura had with her). She had half a mind to dump him again, but she wasn't heartless enough to do it in front of class.

"But Kamiya there's…uh" Kenshin pointed down trying not to look. Kaoru looked down on the floor.

"That's the floor Himura." Kaoru rolled her eyes as she completed the last step.

"No, Kamiya, _there_"

"Whatever, Himura," she went back a step to look at her work and started at another problem on the board. Misao, who sat somewhere in front, looked down at what Kenshin was silently pointing at. Her sharp eyes caught the flicker of tissue.

"Ah, Kaoru-chan!" Misao exclaimed trying to beckon Kaoru over to her. Kaoru looked over her shoulder, her eyes daring. She was about to turn around and give Misao a piece of her mind when she accidentally dropped the chalk. With her back to the class, she bent over to pick it up.

A fit of giggling commenced.

Resurfacing from the floor, Kaoru looked around, with dagger eyes. "What's so funny?" The giggling escalated. She looked at Misao and walked over to her, "What is is it Misao??? Just tell me." Misao was bright red from trying not to laugh, the tissue paper was so obvious now that she had bent over, she looked like she had a tail. Kaoru bent over to level eyes with Misao, her back towards the blackboard--giving Kenshin the chance to...

Kenshin had two fingers up her skirt, ready to take hold of the piece of paper that hanged down...

But Misao couldn't take it anymore and suddenly laughed in Kaoru's face--causing Kaoru to step back.

Kenshin pinched.

"..." color drained from Kaoru's face as Kenshin's face became irrecognizable from his red hair.

* * *

Kaoru had to admit that breaking Kenshin's nose was a little too violent to the teacher. "But his fingers were--were--touching me!!! I didn't even have the benefit of my clothes to lessen skin contact!" 

The teacher looked at her, his eyes swerving down to her bottom... he saw the piece of tissue. Without further ado, he made Kaoru turn around and he yanked it off himself, without looking of course (unlike Himura). Kaoru made a squeak, turned around with the urge to kill, but her teacher held up the piece of --slightly damp-- tissue. Kaoru had to put two and two together. When realization dawned on her face, the classroom erupted into a fit.

Lunch was torture. First day of school and she was already the subject of all gossip in the school. Her and Himura. Just to make it worse, most had also assumed that they were already dating, since Himura was pretty obvious about his affections for her last year. _Last year..._ she thought to herself. She was so hard-pressed to try and keep up. Moving to a new town and a new high school was not fun. Nor easy. _I guess he was a little nice to me towards the end, but how was I supposed to know that he wasn't normally like that? _Kaoru walked down the halls trying to hide behind her bangs. Kenshin was still in the clinic and had to remain there for the rest of the day.

* * *

Kaoru stayed in class after dismissal to talk to her teacher. Everyone was almost gone. 

"Professor Hiko..."

"Yes, Kamiya"

"May I have another copy of all the papers you've given out today," Kaoru tried to look repentant. Hiko raised an eyebrow and nodded, handing her another stack of papers.

"Make sure you tell that baka how much its worth."

"Thank you, sir. And thank you for this morning too. No one else was considerate enough to tell me about the..." here she blushed. Hiko smirked a little at her.

"That baka did, but he always had a problem with words. The moron doesn't think before acting." Kaoru nodded at his words thinking: _He sure doesn't. _"I think he's waiting for someone outside, go give it to him now. Class is over, Kamiya. Go home."

Kaoru looked outside, and sure enough, there was a mane of red standing underneath the class window. Kenshin was watching her. Kaoru hurried down the stairs, trying to keep all her books and papers in order. By the time she had reached Kenshin, her papers threatened to scatter if Kenshin had not been quick enough. Kaoru handed him his papers without looking at him. Kenshin took them with a small smile and was about to say something but Kaoru had already marched past him.

"Ano, Kao--I mean Kamiya," Kaoru turned around, her eyes still on the ground. "Arigatou, for the papers." Kaoru nodded and started to leave. "Ah wait!" Kaoru stood still, her back to him.

"What!?"

"I was wondering if I could walk with you home..."

Kaoru turned around with full intention of dumping his offer in the most hurtful manner she could think of, but when she looked up at his face she saw the bandage on his nose. A miscellany of emotions passed through her face... pity...regret...embarassment... Her face contorted again and again, finally setting on _absolute amusement_. Kenshin's nose was all banded up in white, his nostrils blocked up with pieces of tissue. She laughed so hard, she clutched her sides. Kenshin blushed again, his face was a perfect crimson sight in the setting sun, adding to his already red hair.

"Oh alright. You're hopeless." Kaoru agreed and fell in step with him as they walked in silence.

"I'm sorry" they blurted out simultaneously when they reached the corner where they had to part. They looked up at each other and stared, Kenshin was the first to laugh followed shortly by Kaoru.

"It's okay, you had every right to punch me," Kenshin murmured, his hand running through his hair.

_That's a cute habit, I wonder why I didn't notice before, _Kaoru thought.

"No, you were just trying to get that tissue off me. I stepped back too suddenly." Kaoru replied. "You should have just told me, you know."

"Hai." He looked down at the ground, still very unsure of himself. All that confidence he built up during the summer had quickly drained away after that morning.

"Well, I'm going this way. So I'll see you tomorrow." Kaoru hugged her books closer to her chest and started to walk off.

"Kaoru..."

"I thought I told you not to--"

Kenshin stole a quick fervent kiss from her lips and then ran away, his red hair waving softly in the afternoon sun.

Fingers crawled slowly to her lips, brushing dampness that smelled strongly of ginger.

* * *

This is what I call an episode story. That means I will mark it complete later on, but I will keep adding onto it. 

Don't hesitate to put on alerts or whatever, and tell me if its any good!


	2. First Kiss Dilemma

**Disclaimer: I don't care anymore if I don't own Kenshin. As long as he visits my dreams once in a while and gives me inspiration to write, I am satisfied.**

A/N: I am particular fond of my opening sentence. Do review to tell me that was good! And again, I mark this thing complete to denote that each chapter as a story in itself. Sort of like an anthology of drabbles. But whatever, I'm rambling here.

_Italics usually denotes thought, otherwise its for emphasis._

* * *

**Episode 2: 'First Kiss' Dilemma**

There was no doubt about it. Kaoru was in her premenstrual week.

She was not a morning person, disliked alarm clocks, and hated Tuesdays. Though she usually felt out of sorts when waking up most of the time, today she was especially irked.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned… and this was a woman that hell itself fears.

She woke up at 6 am only to realize that she didn't have swim practice that day since clubs haven't even started yet. She in fact didn't need to wake up at all until 8 am. Unfortunately, sleep became a lost luxury when her first thought for the morning unavoidably took the form of her last thought the night before: a kiss.

Hormones dutifully kicked in as she became conscious of the world around her; her face reddened and her fists balled up, rendering her knuckles white.

"My first kiss, _baka_ TOOK MY FIRST KISS!!!! AAAGH!" With the cry of a fierce Amazon warrior, she grabbed her still ringing alarm clock and threw it at the wall with the force of a 12-wheeler. She trampled all over her bed and marched towards the bathroom, slamming the doors shut. She came down the stairs with her hair in a mess and her fuku skirt ruffled.

"Why Kaoru, you look like you've been ravished…" Megumi's silken voice distracted Kaoru's temper for a moment, allowing her ample time to regain all propriety and dignity, but it didn't last long. Kaoru glared death at the woman and proceeded towards the kitchen to get something edible, like ice cream, for her nerves. Misao was cooking eggs and bacon while Megumi handled the toast.

"What are you doing here?"

"We were in the process of making breakfast for you because your mom called and said she wasn't going to come home this morning. We know that you would pig out on ice cream early for breakfast if no one cooked for you because you're so spoiled." Megumi didn't care if Kaoru was ticked off. They knew each other well enough by now that Kaoru was relatively reasonable even in her '_week_.' What they didn't know however, was that she was angry for a particular reason. She can be angry for no reason at all, but she could turn insane for something she absolutely loathed.

Megumi raised an eyebrow as Kaoru scooped two cups of ice cream, picked out some bacon, and slid scrambled eggs into her already filled plate. "What's wrong? You look like you're getting ready for a kill…" Misao chirped, amused.

"I **am** getting ready for a kill. When I see that Kenshin Himura, he's going to wish he were dead! I'm merciful enough to grant that wish _after_ I'm done with him," she muttered through half-chewed pieces of bacon and dribbles of ice cream.

"Do tell what happened before you execute such a marvelous plan." Misao drawled. Kaoru, in her anger, let go of all judgment and spilled out the center of all her thoughts at that moment: _the kiss._ She trusted them to keep it a secret.

Megumi looked at Misao and Misao at Megumi. "So you're mad at Kenshin for stealing a kiss?"

"Not just any kiss, my first kiss. Get it right, Misao, don't twist my words."

"Uh okay. So you're first kiss…"

"Is very important! Misao, what's so hard to understand?"

"I know it's important. It's just that, you know, this guy really likes you."

"BUT I DON'T LIKE HIM BACK!" Kaoru would have broken her plate had not Megumi slide it away by just one tiny inch.

"Ouch," Megumi whispered.

"This is not fair. I shouldn't be pressured to like Kenshin back. He's such an idiot. And a jerk!"

"Are you talking about last year?" Misao asked.

"YES! He basically walked all over me during first semester. He used to flip up my skirt on a daily basis! I've never been so degraded in my entire life."

"He was nice to you after the holidays."

"I thought he was guilt-ridden. Maybe the spirit of Christmas got to him, I don't know. Some sort of epiphany that informed him I didn't appreciate his bullying."

"I think he started to like you then," Megumi mumbled between bites.

"Twisted moron. And did you see how he was trying to act all shy and nice to me yesterday. Who in the world is he trying to fool? It was so obvious it was just to get my nerves up again."

"I really thought you guys made up last semester." Misao sat down by Kaoru with her coffee.

Kaoru shrugged emphatically and went back to the task at hand. Absently, she smeared melted ice cream on her eggs and proceeded to consume said concoction. "I thought so too. He walked me home once, he said sorry, we shook hands and called it a truce. Since I'm so nice, of course I forgave him. But I'm such a fool to expect him to change! He basically pinched my butt yesterday!"

"He was trying to get the tissue—"

"_Don't even mention it, Misao._" Kaoru gritted through her teeth, the spoon in her hand bending to her will as Misao backed away from the hormonal kendo-freak in front of her.

"We should get going, school's about to start." Megumi interrupted, picking up her plate.

Kaoru, still steaming, dumped her plate in the dishes and stomped out of the house. Leaving the two to whisper to themselves.

* * *

"Kaoru—I mean Kamiya." Kenshin hastily added her last name when he saw the… _how do you describe the glare of eternal damnation and death?_ Anyways, it was enough of a look to paralyze everyone who caught a glimpse of it. Kenshin just stoned over as an automatic defense for himself. 

The girls walked past both Sano and Kenshin, none of them even saying a word for fear of an immediate explosion.

"What was that?" Sano shook and rubbed his head as the girls walked on. He nudged the redhead by him who basically fell over face first to the stone path.

"She hates me," Kenshin whimpered to the ground.

"Eh?" Sano looked back at the three girls and saw Megumi turn around to look back at them. She mouthed the word 'Later.' Sano just nodded at her and helped Kenshin up to his feet.

* * *

During homeroom, Kaoru proceeded to hurt Kenshin in every way imaginable. His body was halfway through the door when Kaoru tried to slam it shut at him. 

"Sorry, Himura-kun, I didn't know you were there" with a silky and innocent voice, Kaoru practically purred the words as she slightly grabbed at Kenshin's hurt shoulder. She squeezed it teasingly, hoping to play with his mind.

Kenshin's face became as red as his hair when she touched him. One squeeze and he was gone to la-la land.

Anytime Kaoru stood up to walk to the board during class, she made it a point to brush her fingers on his desk, tracing alluring –seductive—lines as she sashayed pass his seat. Kenshin's eyes went into swirls when he realized that such treatment was meant only for him. Math came along with Mr. Hiko's daily pestering, bringing Kenshin up to the board again and laughing unabashedly at any mistake he made. Finally, Hiko became so exasperated that he asked--implored pleadingly--for anyone to save his 'baka deshi' once again. Kaoru's hand shot in the air. Meekly coming towards the board, Kenshin was completely caught unawares when she roughly pushed him out of the way and proceeded to do what she did best: dominate.

Her voice was clear and concise as she taught the class the rest of the lesson. Hiko merely sat down and started grading papers while Kamiya took over for him. He knew not to interfere with Kamiya. He had dealt with her before, only to his undoing. When he realized that her temper was once again directed at Kenshin, he fought to keep sighing from relief. For amusement, he closely observed the interaction that was happening behind him, unseen by the rest of the class due to the large teacher's table that hid the lower parts of both students' bodies.

Kaoru at one point in the lesson, gave Kenshin the chalk to solve the problem. Having given him a look that promised unmentionable pain for any mistake, Kaoru had to urge him twice to take up the offer, challenging his manhood in front of the whole class. He kept a straight face and prayed to every god and myth he knew that he would get the right answer. And he did.

Kaoru smiled luxuriously at him and said "Very good," her eye lashes batting up at him lazily. Kenshin gulped as she slowly leaned a little closer…

Kaoru's hand slid down to his bottom, she cupped it for a small moment, rubbing a circle and squeezed it gently.

Knowing that the teacher's table would cover 'lower bodily interaction,' Kaoru grinned cattily at Kenshin before pushing him towards his seat and proceeding with the lesson.

_Poor boy won't know what will hit him..._ Were the thoughts of the teacher as the class was dismissed for lunch. He saw Kenshin stalk Kaoru out of the door, like a lion to his prey. Unfortunately for Kenshin, Hiko decided it was funnier to not further hint upon the volatility of Kaoru's behavior.

* * *

Sano, Misao, and Megumi watched from a distance as Kenshin cornered Kaoru in a dark aisle. 

"I thought she was mad at him." Sano whispered as he took a bite out of his sandwich, watching the titillating show.

"Sano, you better close your eyes. I think I know what she's about to do." Misao retorted.

Kenshin pushed Kaoru towards the wall, his arms on either side of her to prevent her from going anywhere. He eyed her with a lusty glare.

"Kaoru…" he purred leaning in closer to her face.

"Mmm, Kenshin…" she whispered, letting her hand travel down his waist and ultimately to his muscled rear. She squeezed and pushed his body towards herself. Kenshin growled and edged a leg in between hers. He closed his eyes for the kiss…

Kaoru **kneed** him with the force of _twelve_ 12-wheeler trucks.

As expected, Kenshin let out a small squeak before losing all consciousness and melting to the ground.

"SHIT!" Sano whispered hoarsely, as his hands went down to his own balls just to make sure they were still safe. Megumi had to nudge him to be quiet so as to keep him from panting too loudly from empathic pain.

Kaoru walked out of the corridor quickly, encountering Megumi, Misao, and Sano at the corner. She gave them a happy innocent smile while they regarded her with wide eyes.

"Shall we go to lunch?" Kaoru asked.

* * *

Kenshin was in the nurse's room **again, **and Kaoru was humming happily to herself during class when Hiko approached her with two sets of papers. 

"Kamiya, please give these papers to Himura as well."

"Why?"

Hiko eyed the girl in a professional manner. He left the papers on her desk and answered, "because its your fault he's in the nurse's again."

"What? Why do you think that?"

"I know you, Kamiya."

As if it wasn't enough that they were having this conversation in class, Kenshin walked in with a limp. The class gaped as the soccer captain of the school emerged through the door in pain, his body a little bent over.

"I'm back," Kenshin mumbled, unconsciouly cupping the front of his pants. _Painkillers don't work for this kind of thing_. The class promptly put two and two together, adding a couple of details here and there, and soon enough, a plot of drama and intrigue was circulating through the class--nay, the whole school--the PG version being that Kenshin allegedly had tried to rape Kamiya and Kamiya had to defend herself. (Heaven knows what the R-rated version was...)

Kaoru offered no explanation, and in doing so, encouraged most of the story weavers of their own self-made truth.

The class had free period next, leaving the limits of gossip completely trampled by the more vivacious feminists in the class. When asked by their peers about what had happened between their two best friends, Sano, Megumi, and Misao weren't able to divulge any other information that could stand as an excuse for Kenshin's groin.

Kenshin sat stiff in his chair, concentrating on the small pencil marks on his desk as a distraction from the small bolts of pain that still shot from the more delicate places of his manly body. Inevitably, Sano took this as an opportunity to at least _act_ like Kenshin's best friend, though as expected, rooster-heads usually have no idea how to deal with such delicate situations.

Sano sat in front of him and gave the redhead an understanding look.

"You can't possibly sympathize with me, Sano. Have you ever had your loins mashed into a pulp?"

Sano paled, closed his eyes, exhaled, and shook his head rigorously.

"Good. Enjoy your fertility. I'm probably sterile for life the way I feel now." Sano made a teary face to cover the threatening outburst of laughter that seemed to bubble out of his throat despite his efforts. "Its not funny. I can always help you _understand this pain_, you know." Sano buried his face in his arms on the desk at Kenshin's words. He breathed a couple of times before finally answering

"She's mad at you." Sano whispered glancing behind him at the girl who was still talking animatedly to some of the more malicious girls of the class.

"No shit, I had no idea," Kenshin answered rolling his eyes.

"She hates you for all of last year, and yesterday."

"Ah…" his voice softened, betraying his thoughts to the brunette: _Perhaps, even if indirectly, this was all still my fault?_

"You stole her first kiss," Sano scrutinized his friend's face as he dropped this bomb. The emphatic silence that followed was enough to confirm the thoughts of the redhead to both boys. Kenshin blinked at Sano's statement. Realization spread through his face, followed immediately by guilt.

"You know, you were mean to her last year. I mean, Megumi said she was particularly pissed that you kept flinging her skirt up."

"She had great legs…" he mumbled.

"You need flirting lessons."

"I didn't think I liked her that much."

"Yeah, well seeing her in that hot springs must have been a mind-blowing epiphany" Sano reminded his friend.

Kenshin grinned at the memory.

* * *

During winter break, he and Sano were at a hot springs at the edge of town. They were talking about the girls when they heard a small sob in the spa behind them. Sano grinned at the feminine sound and Kenshin followed him to the wooden fence. The three girls were in the water, comforting Kaoru. 

"_He just can't keep his hands to himself" she whispered angrily, her tears flowing._

"_Kenshin's a disturbed little boy…"_

"_I don't care. It's so embarrassing." Kaoru buried her face in Megumi's shoulder. Misao patted her back._

"_Kenshin probably just likes you." Misao answered._

_Kaoru snorted and started to laugh bitterly. "Yes that would make sense wouldn't it? Make fun of the new girl and see if she'll fall for you!" Kaoru stood up in her glorious nudity. Sano turned away but Kenshin looked on. His mouth hanged open as the water dripped down her curvy figure. "I'm just being hormonal right now guys. Sorry for all the crying. It's just so much stress having to move into a new town and then getting harassed by some redhead."_

Kenshin promised that he would never hurt her again.

* * *

"Earth to Kenshin, Dragonlady is about to approach, prepare force shields!" Sano whispered hastily as he ran away, his hand covering his loins. 

"Your papers." Kaoru called out as she dropped a stack of homework on Kenshin's desk and left the classroom before anyone else could approach, obviously determined to walk home alone.

Kenshin stared at the packets on his desk, unmoving, as the class went home for the day.

When Kaoru reached that corner where _**that**_ happened the day before, she paused and started pacing. She belatedly realized that she had never done anything so devious in her entire life--sure she'd hurt people intentionally before, but this was obviously different.

"I am not feeling sorry. I am not feeling sorry. I am not feeling sorry." Quietly reciting this mantra out loud didn't relieve her of the guilt she felt and slowly her tears of self-hatred fell.

"I am" Having followed her quietly at a distance, caring amethyst eyes faced Kaoru when she had turned to look.

Kaoru gulped and shook her head vigorously, flinging drops of tears here and there before assuming a haughty pose. "Ha! Whatever Himura… are you still on that bet to seduce me?" She pointed an accusing finger at him, quoting a small piece of gossip she had heard about herself and him.

"I wasn't on a bet."

Kaoru shrugged and started to walk away when Kenshin grabbed her wrist. "We need to talk."

"I thought I made myself clear in that hallway." Kaoru smiled in satisfaction when she heard Kenshin groan at the memory.

" I'm sorry," Kenshin proceeded to talk to keep himself from dwelling too much on the now-almost-bearable pain between his legs. "I wouldn't call yesterday a kiss, by the way."

Kaoru threw him another one of those eternal damnation glares but Kenshin didn't waver.

"It was a sort of fling, not a kiss." Kenshin kept on going. "I'm apologizing for last year as well, I know I was mean to you."

"I already forgave you for that." Though her words and tone were haughty, her eyes looked at him with unrestrained guilt.

"I'm still sorry."

Kaoru shrugged and murmured something about apologies. Catching herself before saying too much, she quickly changed the subject. "_What_ was yesterday? Some sort of joke?"

"More of like a slip-up, I didn't know what I was doing." Kenshin scratched the back of his head and tried to look as apologetic as possible, to no avail.

Kaoru, still suspicious, raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I guess cornering me this morning was a slip-up too?"

"More of like a misunderstanding, I thought you had answered my question before." Kenshin shifted his weight on to his other leg and fidgeted with his hands, knowing that perhaps he would get 'the answer' at that very moment.

"What question?"

Silence settled. Curiosity suddenly turned into sudden realization as violet eyes stared at her in shock.

"That you would go out with me," he whispered, almost inaudibly.

_Kuso! I forgot about that! He did ask me in earnest didn't he? And I was so caught up with that losing my first kiss. If he did ask me in earnest, then he couldn't have been on a bet, could he? _She started twisting her fingers at the discomforting fact. Kenshin saw her face contort into absolute guilt and started to laugh at her.

"You forgot?! You caused me er… life-changing pain because you—"

"Well I'm sorry OKAY? I was upset."

"Well yeah, but you didn't have to knee me!" Kenshin replied hotly, his eyes disbelieving but his smile full of glee. _She didn't take into account that I actually __**wanted**__ to go out with her. I probably have a chance._ "Kaoru, follow me." His confidence was back, and his voice told her so. Without knowing what she was doing, she followed him towards the opposite street and trudged on. Kenshin made a turn and Kaoru faced the delicate sight of the sea. The street they were on was on the edge of a hill that overlooked the beach.

"I come here when I used to skip class." Kenshin started. "I haven't skipped since you came to town."

"Huh?"

"Just listen," Kenshin faced her. "Um about the bullying, I bully everyone, but you I enjoyed the most. You look really sexy when you get mad." Kenshin was scratching the back of his head again and was staring at his feet--blisfully ignorant at the hellish look that Kaoru had on her face. Kaoru wanted to knee him again if not for the fact that he was still limping. "Sorry about that, again. Then, suddenly, I just started to like you, or I've always liked you and maybe I just didn't realized. All I knew was I didn't know what to do, so I just sort of asked Sano… and he was like 'be nice to her.' So I did and we became friends, right?"

"I guess." Kaoru answered uncertainly. He spoke as if he was merely telling a story, not a confession of his affection and it was all very unnerving.

"I started to like you more when you started to smile at me, and I couldn't help but look at you in class. Everybody sort of knew because I was really bad at hiding it, which Megumi so gladly pointed out. But I guess _you_ didn't."

Kaoru nodded, looking at the ground.

"So that brings me to what happened yesterday."

Kaoru nodded again.

"If you don't want me, I understand." A silence settled around them with the background of splashing waves and seagulls.

"My first kiss, I was hoping to get it when I'm at the altar." Kaoru finally said. Kenshin just blinked at her sudden change in the conversation.

"Kind of extreme there, and probably unhealthy" he joked. Kaoru gave him an annoyed face, but a smile tugged at her lips.

"I wanted my marriage to be beautiful in every way. It was my way of saying 'You will be the first and last man I will kiss. None of my kisses will be wasted on anyone else'"

"What about the guy? I can hardly imagine a guy who hasn't kissed before he gets married."

"It doesn't matter to me. All the girls he kissed… I believe I would surpass them all and he would want nothing else from any woman because of my commitment. Anyways, in that way he could have someone to compare me to and realize that my kisses truly belong just to him."

"I guess that makes sense. That's really beautiful, Kaoru." His voice changed into a low murmur. "Lucky guy, your husband."

"You are going to call me Kamiya, and to answer your comment: Not anymore, you jerk!" she gave him a push that sent him flying to the pavement.

"Oro! I said that wasn't a kiss!"

"Oh yeah, what was it then?"

"I don't know. A fling, some sort of lip-contact."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at him and was about to turn around and walk away.

"A kiss is something else," he added hastily, hoping she would listen. Kaoru paused, wanting to hear more. "It's—I don't know. It's more of like something that two people agree to do. Whether it's just on the cheeks or on the lips, it's a declaration of someone's _appreciation_ for the other. It's a two-way thing, it can't just be on one side of the equation."

"I suppose _you_ would know."

"Nope. Never been kissed. I mean that literally. I never kissed you, Kao—I mean Kamiya."

Kaoru tilted her head. "Let me get this straight. Your definition of a kiss is that it's a mutual action done by both sides of the party in an initiative to declare their 'appreciation'."

"Yup!"

Kaoru shook her head at him and stood by him again, looking at the sea.

"Besides, I'd like my first kiss to be wanted." Kenshin said humbly. "You barely like me right now, so I'm willing to say that that wasn't my first kiss. In fact, I'd go so far as to beg for your agreement." He looked at her sadly.

With the setting of the sun right in front of their faces, it was hard to tell what kind of look Kaoru gave Kenshin. Kenshin, however, wasn't really paying attention, being too caught up at the reflection of light that shone in her eyes.

"Alright, truce then. We've never had our first kiss, and we definitely had not kissed each other!" Kaoru suddenly chirped as she spat at her palm and handed it to him. Kenshin looked at it and sighed. He spat at his hand, looked away, and shook Kaoru's hand, the liquid of their saliva squishing in the process.

"Ugh, that was primitive."

"You are a weird boy. By the way Himura, um, I have PMS this week…" Kaoru said, her voice filled with guilt and her eyes traveled to his groin.

"Apology accepted, though you better hope I'm not sterile." Kenshin smiled. Kaoru looked up at him and mouthed 'weird, weird, boy.' Kaoru walked on home her head shaking in amusement.

Kenshin wiped his hand in the inside of his pocket and looked at the sun. Then he remembered.

"Kamiya, would you go out with me?" He shouted across the street, hoping that some of the neighbors would hear.

"I'll think about it!" She shouted back as she rounded the corner.

* * *

This is where you hit that button that will encourage me to write faster for _your _amusement. Hehe. 


	3. The Oros of Life

Disclaimer: No own Kenshin.

A/N: Okay, I know for some of you, you've read some of these before, but I've changed at least a fourth of it, and its a little funnier than before. And if the WAFF outweighs the humor, just review to tell me what you think.

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**Episode 3: The Oros of Life**

Kenshin woke up as usual the next morning, thinking to himself that today will be like any other day. He went through his usual routine because, really, today was just as usual as any day could get. _Nothing big, today is just…today, there's no point in thinking that today will be anything other than normal._ He went into the bathroom, half-naked with only his boxers on. Still groggy when he took out his toothbrush, imagine his surprise when he closed the medicine cabinet to look at himself in the mirror and saw a scary face instead.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!" Sano whipped.

"Orrroo??" Kenshin squeaked, thinking quietly that perhaps he should have made sure the doors were locked at night to prevent any intrusions of roosters and other similar pests in the future. Kenshin was so caught up with calculating how much a new lock-and-bolt would cost, that he was surprised when Sano offered him a glass of something.

Sano had a bottle of sake in his hand. "Nothing like sake to celebrate birthdays, right?"

"Uh, yes, I think. My birthday? Oh right…" Kenshin muttered as he absently took the glass and finished it, Sano chugging the bottle half-empty. "Hey Sano, can you not tell anyone else?"

"Like last time? You know, Kenshin, I don't get that, but sure, whatever, as long as I get the rest of the sake." Sano grinned like an idiot as he took another swig from the bottle.

"Deal." Kenshin said happily. Turning to what he needed to do, he was determined to get out of the bathroom before Sano got too drunk… _You never really know a guy, but I've known Sano for years, right? Still, I can't believe he would surprise me in my __**bathroom!**_Kenshin, weary of the somewhat leery look that Sano adopted after his third swig, shook his head at the strange paths his thoughts took.

* * *

With Sano in tow—yes, Kenshin had to drag Sano by the belt, thereby keeping at least 2 feet of space between them—Kenshin left the house at a rather early time and was walking towards the school when he saw the girls hunched up at something on a street corner. 

"Ooh! That is so pretty Kaoru!"

"Thanks! I made it myself." Kaoru fingered a beautiful piece of silk ribbon that had beads carefully hand-sewn into it.

Sano easily looked over the girls' heads and yawned. "Hey missy, that's some shiny shtuffff…" Sano drawled not seeing the disapproving glare of Megumi.

"Drunk this early? I shudder to think what your mother would say…" she quipped.

"Mom walked out again this morning…" Sano easily replied, slightly tipsy.

All heads turned to regard the silly grin on Sano's face. The others had their lips set in a grim line.

"Come on, Sano. We'll be late," Kenshin quietly murmured as he dragged his friend away. _He probably saved that bottle of sake to drink with me so he wouldn't be too out of control today._

Kaoru looked at Sano with caring eyes as he was pulled away by Kenshin towards school. "What was that about?"

"His mom. She walks out a lot on Sano's family, coming home sometimes and staying for awhile but leaving almost as suddenly." Megumi whispered guiltily, feeling absolutely horrid for what she truly intended as a joke.

"You know, Sano and Kenshin have been getting along really well since last year. A lot of things have happened…" Misao thoughtfully looked at Kaoru, who nodded in agreement. _Kenshin started hanging out with Sano a little after Kaoru met Kenshin, though they've known each other since elementary…_

They were crossing a street halfway when Kaoru burst aloud. "We need to cheer him up!"

And so that was the plan. The girls, knowing that they had enough time, ran to a bakery near the school and to a sushi store. They entered homeroom with mischievous whispering smiles that promised a stimulating time for the slightly drunk boy. Kenshin raised an eyebrow and chuckled as Kaoru whispered something to Megumi that raised a soft blush to her cheeks when they entered. She started to shake her head in denial, but in the end, Kaoru won with a triumphant whoop. Kenshin merely chuckled but never asked, knowing that by the end of the day, that something good would happen to his best buddy.

Math as usual was torture—for him anyways. Hiko called him up again, but Sano was the one who saved him. For someone who was drunk, his logic seemed pretty clear when it came to derivatives. Though seeing that one of his students wasn't exactly sober, Hiko didn't pass up the opportunity for a good joke.

"Tori-atama, why don't you let your boyfriend hold your hand steady?" Hiko guffawed when Kenshin gave him an evil glare.

"Professor! That's not funny…"

"Easy, baka deshi, I don't see the rooster complaining. You're much too defensive, are you sure you're straight?" Hiko continued rambling as Kenshin sank lower and lower to the ground. "If you spent more time on your calculus than on shampooing your hair, maybe your sexual orientation wouldn't be questioned as often."

"Mou, shishou, that's not fair."

Hiko guffawed again, knowing he had hit a sore point.

"What 'thampoo' _do_ you 'yoosh', Kenshriiiiin? So 'shawft…'" Sano mumbled as he tugged on Kenshin's hair, totally missing Kenshin's point and proving Hiko's.

"ORORORORORO!"

The class merely laughed as Kenshin snatched his hair away and stood at the opposite corner of the room, staring at Sano with horror.

Finally, Hiko let the two boys sit down, and was about to start his sermon when another high-pitched giggle exuded in the back of the class room.

"Miss Takani?" Hiko queried.

"Gomen…" Megumi murmured, glaring at Kaoru who was striving to look inconspicuous with the note she was reading underneath her desk. Top of the class, Megumi hardly squeaks a word when class starts.

_It seems desperate measures are needed for desperate situations. –misao_

_I agree completely. Well? Is it going to be you or me? – kaoru_

_Rock, paper, scissors? –Misao_

_Agreed. -Kaoru_

The two girls faced each other after passing notes all across the room. Since Misao sat near the front and Kaoru near the back, it was quite hard to keep a conversation going, but not even the school's definition of proper behavior could hold back the mischief of girls. When Hiko turned around towards the board, Misao looked at Kaoru and whispered 'one, two, three!' Misao won with a rock and stuck a tongue out at Kaoru.

"Put back your tongue inside your mouth, Makimachi," Hiko quietly said without so much as turning around.

_Kuso, I swear, that man has eyes on the back of his horns._

* * *

"I'm so glad we have the day off!" Misao shouted as she darted out of the school and into the grassy court of the cafeteria. 

"It's nice that they have these staff meetings on Wednesdays." Megumi agreed quietly as she came out, Sano and Kenshin right behind her. "Lets go have lunch, shall we?"

Lunch turned out to be a buffet. Sano was presented with sushi, sashimi, some pastries, and even some of the girls' lunches. He particularly enjoyed Kaoru's beautifully garnished rice and seafood lunch. The pale pink of shrimp shreds, the soft crab meat, oh and the squid all stood out like a lovely garden waiting to be devoured. Kaoru merely sat there and looked endearingly at Sano as he gulped all the food that was presented to him. In the meanwhile, Megumi chatted endlessly with Sano about the odds of losing at dice and how he can pick up his game and Misao gave him a massage—which, Sano had to admit, was 'veeerryyy goooooodd…' Misao winked at him and told him 'anytime!' They all laughed as Sano turned beet red at her offer. "Just kidding, Sano. Gosh!" Sano's face was priceless and everybody was in a fit of giggles again at the poor boy.

Kaoru suddenly stood up and sat at the other side of Sano with her napkin in hand. She started to wipe off some of his lunch off his face and Sano scratched his head while blushing. "Arigatou, Jou-chan… hehe." Kaoru was rewarded with a charming boyish smile. _So he __**can**__ be charming, if only…_

Kaoru stood up and stood behind Sano. Before Sano could turn around, Kaoru's arms draped over his neck and Kaoru gave him peck on his forehead, sending Sano to five different galaxies and back again.

"Ka—Kaoru-chan?" It was Megumi's voice that brought Sano back to reality. Kaoru turned around and looked at Megumi whose face was in a miscellany of emotions.

"Yes?"

"Ah, well… I um never mind…" Megumi stuttered as she drew down her gaze from Kaoru's innocent face back to the empty lunch box that was devoured by their pet project for the day

"Ahem…" Sano faked a cough and Kaoru turned her attention again to the boy in front of her. She smiled down at him and hugged him completely, her chest firmly pressing upon his back. Her hair dripped down to cover their faces as she whispered something in his ear. Letting go, she went back to her seat.

"Hey Kaoru, I'm going to the bathroom. You want to come with?" Misao held out a hand, her eyes sparkling with hidden mirth.

"Sure" Kaoru chippered. "Hey Kenshin, would you mind getting my bag from inside the classroom? Meet me in front of the girl's bathroom." Not looking back as she made her request, she never even heard Kenshin's acknowledgement…or lack thereof.

Leaving Sano and Megumi, Kenshin tried to walk straight as he did what he was bid. His bangs hanging low on his face, he stalked quietly down the hallway and paused in front of the bathroom. Misao went out first and nodded at Kenshin. "She'll be out in a minute…" Kenshin nodded, not looking up. Misao quirked an eyebrow before going to one of the windows to leave the redhead to his thoughts.

Kaoru finally finished and greeted Kenshin as she walked out of the bathroom with a content smile. "Hey Kenshin, thanks a lot. Now let me see…" Kaoru took her pack and grabbed her organizer from inside. She started walking towards the cafeteria grounds and gestured to Kenshin— who was still painfully silent—to follow her as she flipped through her agenda. "Oh I thought we had no homework… hey what's this—" Her mumbling to herself was interrupted by a running Misao who promptly tugged at her ear to whisper something . To Kenshin's dismay and confusion, Kaoru and Misao started giggling like little school girls.

_Oro? What is happening to everybody? _Thought the redhead as Kaoru pulled back on the hyper girl who was fighting hard to run towards the cafeteria grounds.

"Oh my gosh, Misao. No, let them—" Kaoru bodily lifted the small girl and made her lean her back to the wall by pushing on Misao's shoulders.

"But but but!" Misao pushed back, her eyes in a frenzy, struggling with Kaoru as if it were a _matter of life and death. Come on Kaoru—you're such a freakin' prude!_

"No."

"Don't you want to see?"

"I'd say I'm disgusted."

"No you're not," Misao dryly replied as another fit of giggles took hold of Kaoru.

"Oro?" Kenshin stood with his confusion entirely too obvious.

"Ugh, men. They don't know a thing…" Misao sardonically retorted as she waved at him impatiently. Kaoru merely smiled and grabbed both Kenshin's and Misao's arm in a vice grip. "Kaoru, nooo! You freakin' prude!"

"Let's take a walk around the school, shall we?"

"_The whole school?_" Kenshin asked incredulously, watching out for Misao's flailing arms, bagpack, and braided hair.

"Yes. The _whole_ school."

* * *

Sano and Megumi were waiting for them at the gates of the school when the school bell rang dismissal. Both of them were withdrawn, but their smiles were unmistakable. Quietly the couple followed their three friends from behind, side by side. Misao and Kaoru held a stimulating and loud conversation with Kenshin between them. Finally, they came to the street where they all had to part. 

"So I'll see you guys later. Come on Megumi, your house is _this way_." Misao dragged Megumi away before she can say a word, hoping to scrape out details from the silent but otherwise glowing girl.

"Well guys I'll see you tomorrow. Sano…you better be good." Kaoru gave Sano a meaningful glare and punched him playfully in the shoulder. She nodded to Kenshin goodbye, who just icily turned away from her. Kaoru raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off. She waved goodbye once more to the two and walked home.

Kenshin was watching her walk away when Sano finally talked.

"Jou-chan's really nice, did you know that?"

"I'd bet. She must have _felt _nice too." Kenshin's voice dripped spite as he turned towards his home street.

"Hey man, it wasn't like that. She was just being her devious little self."

"'Devious little self.' What endearing words to call her. Real kinky, Sano." Kenshin turned his head to look back at Sano, daring him to challenge his comment.

"Yeah…" Sano said uneasily, "though I think I'd prefer the words 'little sister' to endear her with." Sano replied with a small smile.

"What?"

"When she was hugging me at lunch—no, Kenshin she was not feeling me up or anything perverted like that, you really are stupid—she told me I was like a brother to her and that I was a strong person. Then she dragged you away with Misao and left me with Megumi." At this, Sano started blushing furiously. "Megumi said she'll go out with me now."

Kenshin's head snapped up at his words and he finally figured out what had happened. Groaning when he remembered his icy demeanor when Kaoru said goodbye, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Sano smiled down knowingly at his friend.

"Hey, you didn't know, did you?" Sano asked. Kenshin shook his head and buried his forehead into his palm. "That's alright. You guys will kiss and make up someday, mark my words. You sure you don't want to come by for another round of sake? I have your gift at home…"

"No, Sano, I'll be fine. You just stay strong like Kaoru said, okay?"

"Well alright, I'll try to get you your gift tomorrow." Sano patted him on the back and they went on their separate ways.

Kenshin was near his house when he heard his name. "HIMURA!" Looking around, he almost didn't spot the crazy running girl that almost bumped into him. Luckily, he was steady in his stance and easily caught her.

Kaoru had ran up to him. Grabbing his shoulders to steady herself as she panted heavily, she struggled to get the words out in between breaths. "It's …so… hard… to …chase…you."

When she had finally composed herself, she looked up to his eyes. "Himura, I'm so sorry. I just realized when you gave me my bag and then I didn't remember until I was home…" She babbled, almost randomly, as she looked inside her bag. Kenshin just stared at her calmly, his curiosity winning over his guilt at the moment.

"Here." Kaoru took his hand and handed him a small cupcake that she had saved that morning. It had chocolate icing that said "happy birthday" in a small petite handwriting that was unmistakably Kaoru's. Kenshin held it as she looked inside her pack again. Out came a small candle and matches. Kaoru put the candle on the cupcake and lit it. In the middle of the street, she started singing softly to him while she cupped his hands in hers and looked straight into his eyes with mirth.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, Kenshin." Kenshin blew the candle a little late. He was so surprised and just… speechless at what Kaoru had done for him.

"Kaoru…" he said warmly.

"Hey, no crying!" Kaoru said as she gave him a playful side-hug. She then looked at him and sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to forget. I don't even have a gift for you." She scratched her head at the thought. Suddenly she had an idea.

Kenshin watched her, the sunset behind her glorious form, take out the ribbon from her beautiful locks that cascaded luxuriously down her shoulders in glory as she shook her hair free from its bounds. She then handed the beautiful ribbon to Kenshin.

"It was my mother's before. I sewed the beads on it. Please take it, Kenshin." Kenshin fingered the piece of fabric like a priceless and fragile piece of fluff. He looked up at her, unable to say a thing.

"Now will you say goodbye nicely to me?"

That was it. That was all he needed. He didn't care about anything else as he engulfed her in his arms, keeping his eyes shut tight, hoping that nothing would spill.

"No one's done that to me before." He said as he emerged from her body a little shaken and still rather emotional. The ground became very interesting to Kenshin as she gave him a friendly pat.

"That's because you never tell anyone, you weird boy. Anyways, I got the goodbye I wanted. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Does this mean…?" _Kami, please say 'yes, I'd die to go out with you' already! I want to do more than just hug you!!!!!_

Kaoru punched him playfully. "Nope, still thinking. Bye." She quirked up a smile and turned around with a salute at the redhead and jogged home.

Kenshin wrapped the ribbon securely around his wrist. He watched her fuku skirt wave goodbye,and smiled at how truly wrong Hiko was about his 'orientation.'

_Someday, I'm going to flip up your skirt when you turn your back to me. _

"And a punch _isn't_ what I'm going to get."

Evil grin

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You know how to encourage faster updates. Hit it baby!! 


	4. Bad Boys in Leather Jackets

**A/N July 23 2007: I've just been informed that this chapter won't show up and its been a day so I deleted it and reposted it to see if it works. To those who have been using the Story/Author Alerts, my deepest apologies for the confusion I just caused. Still working on Episode 5: The Sleepover :D**

Disclaimer: I don't own RuroKen

Again, babes, _italics_ are either for emphasis or thoughts. Enjoy.

* * *

**Bad boys in black leather jackets? (Yum)**

"ICE CREAM!!" Misao screamed as she reached the group who were all sitting by the fountain, carrying ice cream cones.

It was cloudy Saturday morning and the gang had gone to downtown Tokyo to go shopping. It was definitely better than the not-so-helpful study group that they tried that morning. The girls were restless and despite the dark threats of their overbearing Math teacher, Kenshin would much rather trade his grades in for some mischief with Kaoru.

"ME!" Kaoru exclaimed as she found the _distraction_ she was looking for in the particularly large cone of Death by Chocolate. Almost everyday, Kenshin's attentions seemed to be even more challenging to avoid/ignore and it didn't really help that she had a penchant for the color amber. She found herself doing interesting things to draw out the color in his eyes, but didn't realize that she wasn't the only one who struggled to keep from crossing the boundaries of social etiquette. Kenshin liked her teasings, but it was getting hard to keep that to himself.

"It's kind of too cold for ice cream, don't you think?" Himura asked the rest as Misao handed him his strawberry cone.

"Weather's not an excuse. Ice cream is ice cream, and will forever be ice cream." Kaoru retorted, leaning back and letting what little sunshine there was to alight her peaceful face. She moaned, enjoying herself, knowing full well that Kenshin was looking at her. _I feel sooo frisky today._ 'Restless' had taken a human form.

She opened her eyes from her stupor and looked at Kenshin who had been watching her from the corner of his eye. He was currently pretending to be listening to Sano, Misao, and Megumi argue over who got the triple scoop. It was so like Misao to get things messed up, especially ice cream orders from three people.

Kaoru winked at him, which made Kenshin snap his head towards her. She turned towards her ice cream again and licked it sensually. She turned back to her ice cream and leaned backwards. She encircled the tipped top of the ice cream with her pink lips and proceeded to take the whole thing into her mouth. She heard Kenshin grunt.

"Something wrong, Himura?"

"Uh…Ahem" Having lost his voice, he let his eyes say the words he really longed to say. But for propriety's sake, he blinked hard and replied. "There's some ice cream on your lips..." He moved towards her, leaning in and completely lost in his desire. Kaoru put up a hand to her mouth and wiped it away, faking ignorance to Kenshin's intentions. Kenshin softly sighed.

"Gone?"

"Yeah…" he murmured, not catching the perk of her mouth as she quietly laughed at him.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, look at that one Kaoru…" Misao pointed to a particular brunette somewhere in the crowd. They were still in the plaza, doing what Misao called "shopping for boys." Kenshin wasn't interested at first, until Kaoru finally joined in with Megumi. 

Despite being tied to the rooster, Megumi liked to look at other men once in a while, knowing that it would push Sano to be a better boyfriend.

"So what exactly do you look for in a guy, Jou-chan?" Sano took a side-glance at Kenshin, and though Kenshin was the perfect picture of indifference, Sano knew him well enough.

"Not much."

"Uhuh." Sano replied, lifting an eyebrow.

"None of these interest me right now," with an impatient wave of the hand, she climbed atop the edge of the fountain and walked around, not minding the fact that she could, at any time fall into the water. The narrow edge made her walk in a more alluring manner, her dainty feet going directly in front of the other as the curvature of her hips jutted out as if to balance her weight.

Kaoru scanned the crowd and returned her eyes on Kenshin's curious face. She gave him a slow smile and turned to Sano. "Nope, I think it's pretty hopeless for me…"

"Hey babe, do you know where the CD store is?" A young man approached the gang as Kaoru hopped down. She faced the young man who was a head taller than she. He was in the process of slipping his shades off. Wearing a tight leather jacket and guiding his motorcycle, he looked positively delicious. She raised an eyebrow as her eyes met his…

Kaoru gaped stupidly.

"I can show you—" Misao's attempt to flirt with the newcomer was interrupted by the gorgeous smile of said man.

"How are you, Kaoru?" The man said, the slow mischievous smile widening across his face.

"Oh my GOSH!" Kaoru exclaimed as she jumped on the man before her and hugged him.

"You haven't changed!" The man exclaimed.

"Kamatari, you've changed a lot!" She said as she backed away, looking him up and down. Kamatari opened his mouth to say something, but his phone interrupted him. Saying his excuse, he turned around to take the call while Misao yanked Kaoru around.

"Who!?"

"Old friend from old neighborhood."

"He. Is. Hot." Misao practically choked as he leaned over his bike to pop up the stand. His rear end faced the girls, arousing tempting giggles from the three as they looked at his backside like it was candy.

"Oh yes he is, he's definitely been working out." Kaoru angled her head to get a better view.

Megumi's interest had also turned towards the unexpected visitor. She too looked him over, O_h he looks nice!_ and sneaked a peek at Sano, to see if he was paying attention. Sure enough, the aloof look on his face wavered as he was trying desperately hard to hide the small frown of envy on his face. She looked to her other side and almost laughed. Kenshin wasn't even _trying_ to hide it.

"Kaoru," the man finished his phone call and took Kaoru's hand in his. "Love, I'm sorry but I have to go, I'll probably see you sometime soon, okay?" Kamatari then looked up and gave a wave to everyone else. "I hope to get your names next time, Kaoru's new-found friends. But in the meantime, keep her out of trouble for me—she gets restless every now and then." Kaoru hugged him goodbye and let him leave. At the last minute, he pecked her cheek and slipped on his helmet. He turned his head towards Kenshin's general direction and smiled an evil smile… _Ahh_… he thought as he started the bike. _That's definitely Kaoru's type…I'll definitely have to get involved in this_.

He blew a kiss to Kaoru and sped away.

"That was Kamatari everyone. He's a very good friend of mine and probably here on business of some sort…"

"I get you now, Jou-chan. You like bad boys…" Sano said lightly, his arm tightly and possessively wrapped around Megumi's waste.

Kaoru lifted an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Misao was looking around again and ran off somewhere.

"What the?" Megumi mumbled when the weasel suddenly left. She came back almost as quick, with a stranger in tow.

Leather jacket, blue shades, and long blond hair this time. "Kaoru, how about this one?"

Kaoru looked disbelievingly at Misao who had practically dragged a complete stranger from the crowd. "What are you talking about? Let go of the poor guy, Misao…" She looked at him closer and almost as an afterthought, added "Hey, he's not half bad."

Misao quickly maneuvered the guy around, ignoring his sounds of protests. She made him bend over for Kaoru's further inspection. Kaoru didn't even blink an eye. She merely nodded her approval.

"Alright you're free to go," Misao told the man.

"Okay, I just wanted you to know that I am _gay_. Thank you very much!" The man stomped off, leaving the whole gang shocked.

"Mou, he looked good too!" Kaoru exclaimed. "Misao, why did you have to do that?"

"Just checking if Sano was correct. You have a fetish for bad guys."

"Just the ones who look good in leather jackets," Megumi added. Kaoru nodded at her.

"Megumi's right. Its not just bad-boys, but _good-looking bad boys_… A motorcycle wouldn't hurt either" she added, as she bit her lower lip in the most seductive of ways.

"Hear that, Kenshin. You were better off when you were bullying Jou-chan around. Who knew?" Sano winked at his friend, who tried to edge in a word, but was immediately cut off by the girl in question.

"That's not true! It's the image, not the behavior that I like. I like gentlemanly good-looking bad boys… _who aren't gay_."

"Well there you have it. Sorry Kenshin, no luck for you." Sano replied. "Jou-chan doesn't even know what she wants."

"I just told you what I want!" She answered exasperatedly.

"Yeah. You do notice you used conflicting adjectives that don't make sense at all, right?" Sano replied. Megumi widened her eyes at him in amusement. "Don't look so surprised, kitsune. I know what an adjective is. Its adverbs that I have a problem with…" Megumi giggled, causing Sano to chuckle. The two laughed together as they slipped into their own little world.

"Kamiya, would you like me to throw away your cone for you?" Kenshin asked.

"Yeah whatever," she replied hotly, annoyed that she didn't get to finish her argument with Sano because he was skipping around the world of pastel colors with Megumi in hand.

* * *

"Man, if I had gotten you your present earlier, you'd have Jou-chan on your lap by now." The boys were standing by the restrooms completely spent but otherwise still willing to accompany/guard their girls/possessions from strangers/boys. 

"What presentare you talking about? It's been three days, and I'm surprised that you still haven't completely forgotten about it." They were waiting, or have been waiting, for the girls outside the ladies' room.

"Its better if I surprise you. I didn't know if you'll like it at first, but I bought it anyways. 'Cause I know I like it, and we pretty much have the same taste…"

_Riiiight…_ Kenshin just smiled.

"It was pretty heavy, buying two of it—one for me too, of course. But I know now that you'll like it and will forever be indebted to me once I give it to you."

"What makes you say that?"

"Kaoru." Sano ended. He was obviously not going to say anything else, so Kenshin permitted himself a raised eyebrow before turning around to answer Kaoru's call.

* * *

Going home, they reached the little corner. Misao, Kenshin, and Kaoru all looked straight in front of them, trying to ignore the couple behind them. It was weird because the three have seen couples kiss before, but it was a more unnerving having to see it so close. Besides, Megumi liked a little privacy and they knew that she had a mean right hook if anyone violated that. 

Out of nowhere, the drone of a motorbike reached their ears and Kamatari came to view.

"Hey babe, want a ride?" He drawled as he eyed Kaoru lasciviously.

Kaoru almost screamed in delight. "Kamatari!" She hugged him full on, ignorant of the twitching redhead nearby.

"Alright, you can disengage yourself now. Its not very proper for a young lady to go around hugging strangers you know."

"Mou! You're no stranger."

"To them, I am." Kamatari chuckled, pointing directly to Kenshin's steaming face.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Guys, meet Honjo Kamatari. He's my partner in crime from where I came from." She slapped him on the shoulder in good humor. "This is Himura Kenshin, Makimachi Misao, and those two who have their hands all over each other are Takani Megumi and Sagara Sanosuke."

"Nice to meet all of you."

"Oro…Kamiya, I thought you went to an all-girl's school before." Kenshin murmured demurely, his voice completely calm despite the attack stance he had adopted.

Kaoru looked questioningly at Kamatari who just gave her a dazzling smile and shook his head. "Oh alright," she whispered before turning back to Kenshin. "Sorry Kenshin, maybe I'll tell you the story some other time."

"In the meanwhile, I'm quite peeved you haven't so much as write to me since summer. You have a lot of stories to tell, don't you?" Kamatari said as he passively nodded his head towards Kenshin. Kaoru smiled.

"To tell the truth, it's been very boring without you." A wide and evil grin lit upon Kaoru's face as she leaned closer to Kamatari and _licked his cheek_.

Kenshin completely shocked, was stunned silent by the act. Sano fell down sputtering, mumbling something about the world coming to an end. _Who __**is **__this girl?_

"Well, sounds like you need a little distraction," Kamatari amiably said as he smoothly slid his hand down her backside, cupping lightly. Kaoru giggled. "Do you guys mind if I steal her for a while?"

Everybody shook their head, except Kenshin.

"Good. How about that ride, babe?"

Kaoru squealed again, quickly donned a helmet on, mounted the bike, and sped off, leaving her friends completely stricken at how 'touchy' she was with the man.

* * *

"How do I look?" Kenshin asked Sano, Monday morning in Kenshin's bathroom. His voice was serious and almost nervous as Sano inspected him. This time they were both properly dressed, and Kenshin's mind was too single-tracked that he didn't seem to mind that the two of them were spending way too much time in his bathroom. 

"Heh, you have a killer look, my man. But there's something missing." Sano whipped out a pair of sweet shades and handed them to the redhead.

"Sano…" Kenshin murmured, quite overwhelmed by the rooster's generosity.

"Hey man, no sentimental crap. Just looking out for your best interests." Sano winked before putting on his own shades. "You need to tie up your hair higher."

Kenshin did as he was told. Glancing at the mirror, he sighed. There wasn't much of a dress code at the school as long as he wore his inner uniform, but this was definitely conspicuous.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Do you look good?" Sano retorted.

"Yeeaaaah…" Kenshin drawled.

"Then lets go." Sano stuck his hands in his jacket. His. Brown. Leather. Jacket.

* * *

The girls were chatting merrily by the school gate, unconsciously waiting for the guys to show up. Suddenly, Misao stopped talking and gaped at something behind Kaoru's back. Megumi had gone silent as well, and gestured for Kaoru to turn around and look. 

Sano came into view, his hair unmistakable. However, his usual uniform was covered by a leather jacket that gracefully emphasized his biceps. Kaoru then angled her head to look further and gasped. By him was a shorter figure, who was no doubt the more impressive of the two. His lack in size was made up by the sheer _presence_ he had, his charisma amplified by the black leather that clung tightly to his lean, ripped, body. Unconsciously, she let her expression show her thoughts: her mouth gaping and her eyes wide and roving. Misao had to nudge her and told her to 'stop unclothing him with her eyes' so she shook her head and made a mental note to keep from opening her mouth too wide.

"Hey." He said simply, his voice in a low gold baritone.

"Well you two are certainly dressed for the weather. I can excuse you, Kenshin, but who the heck do you think you're trying to impress, rooster head?" Megumi asked trying to keep her normal attitude. She liked how Sano look, but she was determined to tackle every girl who'll look his way. (_Mine!)_

Sano snuggled up to Megumi and ensconced her in an embrace while pecking her forehead. "Just you." And off they go again to their own little world…

"Hey, bell's about to ring." Misao noted as she bodily dragged Kaoru away, saving her from the silence that seemed too deep and dangerous to penetrate.

Amber swirled away, letting consciousness take control for the meantime--only until possession is claimed.

* * *

_Who does she think she is?_ Kaoru thought furiously as she ran around after school. Clubs started that week and she had a Kendo meeting to catch. She had been running all around, signing up for a lot of things with her friends. 

Misao chose swimming, tennis, and kendo. Megumi took gardening, the book club, plus tennis. Sano and Kenshin were at soccer practice and after that was kendo for Kenshin and wrestling for Sano. The two boys also signed up for tennis. Kaoru had signed up for swimming, kendo, tennis, and gardening, knowing that with her workload she would be pleasantly productive with most of her time.

But this Monday consisted of only 15-minute meetings, like try outs, for every club. Knowing it was going to be a long day, Kaoru paced her running and dwelled over dangerous thoughts.

_I can't believe she started hitting on him! I don't even know her name, he probably doesn't either. _Kaoru fumed as she tore open the door. Sweating from tennis tryouts but still pumped she quickly took her place in the gym. She looked around and saw that some of her friends were already there waiting to start.

"Kaoru over here!" Misao shouted, beckoning for Kaoru to sit between her and Kenshin.

"Himura." She acknowledged fleetingly.

"Kamiya." He nodded, his face showing a little confusion at her behavior, but nevertheless he was attentive to the kendo instructor, Coach _Hiko_.

"Pick your partners. Makimachi, you spar with me, since you're beginning."

"Mou, Misao, I wanted you as my partner," Kaoru whined, waving solemnly at her poor friend.

"I'll spar with you, Kamiya." Kenshin offered.

"Only if you promise to not hold back," she retorted. Kenshin smiled and nodded.

The two started first and ended last. Extremely tense, the fight between them was the most exciting to watch. Kaoru had improved over the summer because she had started to work out, but her endurance was no match for Kenshin's. He was a guy, after all. Which Hiko promptly noted after the spar. "Himura, I don't care if Kamiya consented. Give me 50 push-ups now. No excuses, you know the rules say that you're not supposed to spar with girls. Its unfair to fight with someone outside of your weight level, baka deshi!"

"Professor Hiko, I can handle him!" Kaoru almost shouted. _Just because I'm a girl…_

"He's right, Kamiya. Its not honorable for me to fight a girl." He agreed with a small smile, his eyes memorizing how her lips look as she panted for breath.

_Men and their stupid pride!_ She was just about to say this when Kenshin pulled off his shirt and started on the push-ups. The gym began to empty as he silently counted to himself, aware that Kaoru was looking. Unconsciously, her breathing became deeper and her mouth stood agape at his strength and masculinity.

"Kamiya, come here." Hiko said, his eyes closed and waiting. When Kaoru approached him, he gave her a warning look, which Kaoru returned with a lifted eyebrow. "He's showing off to you, which pisses me off, because this is punishment. Now I suggest you go to the showers and... _cool off_." Hiko calmly whispered, ending with an arrogant smirk, his eyes knowing. Kaoru burned in embarrassment and took his advice (_more of an order, really)_. Behind her, she heard Hiko's quiet order for fifty laps when Kenshin's push-ups were done as she walked towards the girls' shower. She almost felt sorry after that, but she thought no more of it as the cold water exhausted most of the heat that was building inside her body, which she wasn't sure was from physical activity alone.

She finished her shower and proceeded to gardening.

* * *

Standing up, she saw over the white picket fence the figure in the beautiful leather jacket talking to the others as they patiently waited for her and Megumi to finish for the day. She heard a weird noise from behind her but didn't really pay attention. She dashed around the garden putting things in order. 

She stopped in front of them when Misao waved her over. She came over and told them that Megumi and she were almost done. Again she dashed off, ignoring Misao's sudden cry out to her when she had turned around. When she came close to them again, carrying a bunch of tools, a hand pulled her over and held her tight. Suddenly she felt her backside pressed against a lean and wiry body. It was almost instinct for her to jut an elbow at him, but he caught it in his hand.

"Before you hurt me, Kamiya, you might want to check the back of your skirt. You see, its not there anymore."

Kaoru stiffened. Slowly she inserted her right hand between hers and Kenshin's body. Sure enough, when she tried to grab for the hem of her skirt, her thumb grazed the silk of her panties. The feel of her own touch made her jump back, pressing her backside to Kenshin's front and trapping her hand between her and Kenshin. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh…" She chanted to herself nervously as she looked around at everyone else in the garden. She saw a couple guys looking at her out of the corner of their eyes. She shifted and took her hand from between their bodies and covered her burning face, unconsciously stepping backwards and molding her body completely to the man behind her.

"K-k-Kaoru… please…"

Kaoru didn't recognize _that tone of voice_. She just shook her head in further embarrassment. "Kenshin help me," she whispered.

"O-okay…" Kenshin gently pushed her hips away from him, trying to suppress his groan. Slowly he shrugged off his jacket and tied it around her waist, (taking his sweet time before covering her up). This calmed Kaoru enough and she murmured her thanks without looking at Kenshin, too absorbed in her shame.

Leaving the garden, Kaoru blushed furiously as Sano made a joke. "Jou-chan, you look good in pink panties!"

Megumi hit him and Kenshin glared. It stopped Sano, but got Misao started. By the time they were at the school gate, Kaoru was laughing and Megumi had joined in the jokes as well. Kenshin remained quiet, but was smiling the whole time. Until the start of a motorbike.

"Your mom got worried, so she made me come pick you up. Hey guys," Kamatari greeted the others.

They all happily said 'hi' to him, but Kenshin promptly asked if he was staying over at the Kamiya's.

"Just this week until I go home." Kamatari then noticed the jacket around Kaoru's form and looked back at Kenshin. "Eheh, don't worry dude, I'm not after Kaoru. She's all yours."

Kenshin turned bright red and "orroed," earning him the laughs of everyone else except that of Kaoru's, who had crossed her arms and glared at everyone.

"It's not what you think, Kamatari," Kaoru calmly said as she fingered the jacket's sleeve that enveloped her waist.

"Well, excuse me, but where I come from, when a woman wears a guy's jacket—especially when it's not cold—well, that's saying something." Kamatari challenged, knowing full well she'll rise to the bait.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. Still in a playful mood, she walked over to Kamatari, turned around, and—to everyone's surprise—flipped up the jacket, showing him everything.

Absolute quiet ensued for a whole minute, broken by Kamatari's mirthful laugh. "YOU HAVE NOT CHANGED ONE BIT!" And to the further shock of the others, Kamatari slapped her pert bottom before she could cover it up again. Kaoru screamed and attacked the older guy with fists. The slap had smarted and was probably heard by the whole neighborhood.

"You are so immature, you freak!"

"Hey, no name calling!" Kamatari said as he dodged her punches. "Well, you're going to have to walk home like that, boyfriend or no boyfriend. It's not going to be comfortable riding the bike." He looked at Kenshin again expecting some sort of response, but was met instead with a threatening glare. Kaoru quieted down when she saw what Kamatari was looking at.

"Relax, Himura. Sorry Kamatari, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to explain now."

"Ah, so you do like him."

"Think whatever you like, but I don't like keeping secrets from my friends."

"Always the martyr. Well alright, but I'm going to leave, I hate first impressions. It's a good thing that, knowing from my limited experience, they never last with me. I trust you'll be honest?"

"Cross my heart." Kaoru spat at her hand and offered it to Kamatari, who did the same and shook hers.

"Bye, guys." Again, he left before anything else could be said as Kaoru turned around to face Kenshin.

"Kamatari's gay."

She let this sink in for a couple—maybe three—minutes. "WHAT!?" Kenshin's voice overrode that of the others, eliciting a loud vivacious laugh from Kaoru.

"Yeah, he's a cross-dresser, which is how he got into my school. It was a lot of fun during the years I was there. When he was found out, he didn't get expelled until he finished. He was very popular.

"He's in love with his boss, but don't tell him I said that. No one's supposed to know. Hehe. Anyways, he's about two years older than me. I'd like to tell you more, but if I do, I'll have to confess to a lot of stuff, which I'm saving for later. Its all fun and games, but right now—" she started to giggle as she recalled a certain memory "—Kamatari won't appreciate me having all the fun. He'd like to contribute his part of the story, so you guys come over this weekend, okay?"

They've been walking with her this whole time. A couple more questions were asked but Kaoru refused to say anything else.

"So like, that's the second time Jou-chan picked up on a guy who's gay. Let me get this straight, once and for all. You like good-looking bad boys who are gentlemen, but usually they turn out gay, right? That's not so bad, Kenshin. You still have hope if the best she can come up with is a cross-dresser." Sano patted his friend on the back.

"You are this close to getting a fat lip, Sano. This close."

"Relax Jou-chan. You do realize I can easily yank that jacket off and run away. I'm sure Kenshin wouldn't mind…"

True enough, Kenshin blushed and tried to threaten Sano but failed miserably, unable to get his thoughts and words straight. The others laughed at him while Kaoru just fumed. Finally they all went their own way, leaving Kenshin and Kaoru again at that faithful little corner.

"Can I give this back to you tomorrow?" she fingered the jacket around her waist.

"Of course. But wouldn't you like me to walk you home?" Kenshin had secretly hoped that she would, thereby earning him another fifteen minutes with her and getting the jacket back immediately afterwards.

"Don't push it Himura. Kamatari was joking when he said that thing about jackets. What really says _something_ is walking a girl home, in my point of view," she preached. "I'm still thinking, so be patient. I have a lot of clubs, you know. I really don't have time for…uh… _a relationship_."

"So why don't you just say no already?" He raised an eyebrow as Kaoru purposefully avoided his eyes.

"I'll give you the jacket tomorrow okay?" Haughtily she turned her back at him without answering and waved a nonchalant hand at him. "Bye, Himura," she chirped without looking and crossed the street. Kenshin took his hand out of a pocket, but before he could say anything back at her, an extremely strong gush of wind went past him.

Kaoru screamed as she felt the draft go through her legs. Not quick enough, she couldn't keep the jacket down. She turned around to see if Kenshin was looking and of course he was.

"Hentai!" she shouted shook her fist at him from the distance.

"I'm never going to wash that jacket, ever! Thanks for the show, _babe_."

He ran off, his laugh ringing in Kaoru's reddening ears.

* * *

Reviews will be very much appreciated. 


	5. Sleepover with Kamatari

Sorry this took so long, but I've realized that my high school series is pretty good…

Alright, onward with this fic. Ah, Kamatari… mmmmmmmmm

* * *

**SLEEPOVER **_**with**_** KAMATARI (oh yes, I can hear you squeal, hehe!)**

The first _real _week of school passed by quickly for Kaoru and much too slow for Kenshin. Though the rest of the gang's free hours were taken up with club meetings, sports practice, and homework (math, particularly), Kaoru's schedule seemed almost impossible that Kenshin considered it to be a good day when he could at least get a small nod of acknowledgement from her.

By Wednesday, he was hoping desperately that Friday night would come sooner.

_Friday afternoon_.

The Kenshin-gumi walked home chit-chatting animatedly about the past week. Amidst the noise and Hiko-impersonations that Sano poorly performed, Kenshin singled out Kaoru's giggle reveling in its warmth, wondering how in the world he got through the week without having heard it more often.

"Oy, Kenshin, snap out of it!" Misao drove the palm of her hand to the back of Kenshin's head, waking him from his fantasy.

"Orrroooo…" Kenshin faded as he faced a glare from the object of his fantasies.

"As I was saying, before Kenshin _rudely interrupted_ me. All of you are invited to dinner! Kamatari's leaving tomorrow and I want you guys to meet him properly." A glint of mischief shone through Kaoru's normally innocent eyes.

"We'll we be regaled by stories of your infamy?" Megumi nonchalantly asked. She grinned evilly at Kaoru's suddenly blanched face.

"I—I suppose. For me to parade Kamatari in front of you guys, I guess I'll have to tell my part of the stories," Kaoru murmured, her cheeks glistening red.

Megumi erupted in her trademark laugh and started listing out the many possible things that Kaoru may have done in the past. Among the list were scandalous relationships with girls (she did meet Kamatari at an all-girl school), scandalous relationships with the teachers, and possible dare-trips that she and her girlfriends made for, perhaps, initiation in some sort of sorority in their school.

"Kitsune, get your mind out of the gutter. That's not Jou-chan, and you know it."

Megumi simply smiled and raised an eyebrow. "But San-kun, look at her. She's blushing so prettily! Whatever she'd done in the past couldn't possibly have been worse than what I had just mentioned."

Kenshin was about to edge in his defense for Kaoru when he heard a small anxious laugh from the raven-haired girl.

"Oh Kami, you all have no idea…" silencing the group for the rest of the walk home.

* * *

Dinner was a loud affair, despite the state the Kenshin-gumi arrived in. Kamatari had cooked three courses with the utmost perfection... which inevitably led the conversation to Kaoru's cooking skills.

"One time, Kaoru tried making ramen noodles for me. Guess what! She turned on the wrong stove and I had to crunch my way through!" Kamatari started.

"Well beat this! She tried making me fried eggs and left the oil to heat to go to the bathroom. I had no idea that the stove was on so I just didn't mind it. But unfortunately, Kaoru had put on the lid on the frying pan, so when she opened it up. THE OIL BURST INTO FLAMES!!!"

"ANYBODY CAN MAKE THAT MISTAKE!"

"Yeah, but you're the only one I know who's ever actually put water on blazing oil_and _be so successful. Sure, people do that sometimes, but they don't end up frying the eggs anyways on the end. The oil overflowed to the bowl of egg batter, so even though my kitchen was half-burnt, I still got breakfast." Misao enthusiastically hammered away as she swallowed mouthfuls of rice.

"Misao-chan, do swallow your food and be quiet for a moment, I have my own story to tell. I was at the Akabeko this summer, and Tae had never seen Kaoru in the kitchen so she had her work as cook's helper. I ordered a glass of water and was waiting for it patiently when Kao-can suddenly burst out waving a burning spatula around while shouting 'IT'S ALIVE!' Needless to say, Tae never put her to work in the kitchen again, at least nowhere near the industrial oven that is."

The group had dropped their chopsticks in favor of clutching their sides tightly, lest it fell out amidst while they laughed their heads off.

"Well, since all of you are getting along so nicely, I'm going to go and start the dishes!" Kaoru stood up, her ears still steaming and marched out with all the plates—which were still slightly unfinished.

"Oy, Jou-chan, I haven't finished my steak yet!!"

"It's alright Sano, I'm sure desert will fix you up. Kao-love, let me help you in the kitchen. I need to take out the custard."

"Alright, Kamatari, set me up!!!" Sano shouted after the tall man who waved his acknowledgement. The group, almost immediately after the couple left the room, became silent.

"So what's the plan, kitsune?"

"Hold up, Tori-atama. You're not even invited!"

"I don't see why can't Sanosuke and I sleepover? What about Kamatari?"

"Number one: sleeping over is a girl thing. Number two: Kamatari isn't exactly a guy, don't you agree Megumi?"

"The weasel is right again! He's not a girl-friend or a guy-friend. He's a **gay-friend!**You know how hard it is to find someone with that much sophistication. God, I envy Kao-chan in this. All the wonderful things to talk with him about without fear of competition, he knows so much about fashion, and he's totally eye-candy but conveniently unavailable, thus no drama should ensue! Kamatari is a special case. You can't possibly compare yourself to him…. Unless…?

"Unless what?" asked the boys in unison.

"Well if it weren't for Sano dating Megumi, we would have long ago made the assumption that the two of you were--… uh…"

"Finish your sentence Misao-chan."

"That you and Sano were…_intimate._"

"WHAT!??" Kaoru dropped a set of glass plates for dessert as she suddenly walked into the whispery conversation. Luckily for her, Kamatari was so used to her antics, he gracefully swooped down and captured the tray with nary a sound.

"Really?" He asked as he walked over to the table and loomed over the slightly aggravated red-head, who was at that point, too shocked to defend himself. "You somehow didn't give that vibe. As I was talking to Kaoru about it, I didn't even consider that since you seem so in love with—"

"Is it really Sano and you? Oh my god, Megumi, when did you know? Aren't you guys still dating? You were just making out with him on my front porch!!! How can you possibly do this to her Kenshin!? I can't believe---" Kaoru once again was rudely cut off by a panicking Sano.

"HHHHOOOOOOLLLLLDDDDD OOOOONNN!!!!!" shouted Sano, who finally caught up with the rest of the conversation. "Neither me and Kenshin are gay. Let me repeat that. I LOVE WOMEN—OW! I meant woman. No wait, I don't exactly confirm nor deny said strong feelings about that particular woman. I just mean to say—

"Oh shut up Sano, everyone here knows you can't possibly go gay because you have me. I can make any man straight with my figure. Except for you Kamatari, I'd probably swing the other way for your boss too." Megumi stated as she stood up gracefully. She took the tray from the grinning Kamatari and gave Kenshin a wink. "If you need help with your uncertainties, Kenshin, you know I'm here for you." Giving him one lecherous glare she passed Kaoru out of the dining room.

"So you're not?" Kaoru asked, postponing her plans for premeditative murder of a certain fox.

Kenshin decided that the time for righteous indignation had already passed so he merely gave Kaoru a sweet smile and shook his head. Kaoru smiled weakly back and proceeded to pick up the rest of the dishes. Quietly, Kenshin fell beside her, helping with the chore, as the rest of the gang quietly left them. Misao grinned as she gave a look of smug success to her friends.

"There is a certain sweet aftertaste to any dessert when conspiracy is successful and you're not doing dishes."

"Yup!" said the others in unison.

* * *

"So tell me again why we're climbing this wall, Kenshin?"

"To make sure Kamatari doesn't dishonor our women."

"Technically, _I'm_ the only one here who could get away with those words, but since you're making such a good point, I think I agree." Sano whispered again as he neared the window ledge. Pulling himself up, he seated himself and pulled Kenshin up. Peering inside, they had a full view of Kaoru's bedroom.

"Nooo."

"Oh Yes. Kaoru-chan here knows how to—"

"NO!!!!"

"YES!!!"

"SAY IT!!! AND SHUT UP KAORU!!!"

"She knows how to treat bananas right! She makes out with bananas!!!"

"You tricked me, Kamatari! You told me it was going to rid of my headache, you jerk!" A audible sound of slapping was heard. It was a sound that Kenshin focused on, to make sure his brain doesn't stray too far, else he might hear the same sound a lot closer to his own face.

"Kaoru, that was uncalled for!"

"No, no, I deserved that. She forgot all about it but I never really apologized for that one."

"Darn right you didn't."

"Anyways, so what happened with the video tape, you ask? I sold it, of course, to the janitor on the fifth floor. I blurred out her name tag, but it turns out I didn't have to since the principal got a hold of it the minute after I left him. Then the principal never got to see it because Kaoru here accidentally ran into her a with a pitcher full of ketchup, instantly ruining the tape.

"Ketchup?" asked Misao and Megumi incredulously.

"Yes, ketchup. Don't ask me why, or even how, she got her hands on so much ketchup. Who knows what was going through her brain that time. Were you going to barter the tape with ketchup Kaoru?"

"Actually I don't remember knowing it was ketchup. I just wanted to bump into the principal to steal the tape back."

"Smooth."

"I know, but I ruined my favorite shirt that day."

"Do you pickpocket then Kao-chan?"

"Not very well, but the tape was large enough to grab from her open purse."

"Remember when we sneaked into her office?"

"GODS YES!! That was so great."

And on and on it went. An almost limitless amount of storytelling ensued, all about Kaoru, the slick- smooth thief, and Kamatari, the clever mastermind. Most of the stories, Kenshin was sure, he would never had heard had he not taken the situation into his own hands. However, the guilt of eavesdropping was slowly turning his head. It wasn't until midnight when he heard words that struck at the very crux of his internal conflict.

"What was the worst prank you guys pulled?"

"Worst in what way? Punishment? Evilness?" Kamatari asked Megumi, already preparing his answer and biding his time. Somehow he knew that Megumi was looking for something specific.

"Oh well, whatever. I mean, like the prank you would absolutely under no condition tell your parents about."

At these words, Kenshin could see the differences between Kaoru's and Kamatari's facial expression. Kaoru went from vivid red to pale white and Kamatari adopted a look of pure coyness and evil.

"Hey Kaoru, why don't we tell them how I got caught."

Silence was the answer, and Kenshin knew, that he should leave now. But he didn't.

"It was my third term there. And the leaves were falling to the autumn wind," started Kamatari quite dramatically. "The principal was being the slave driver again and we had a petition going on for the superintendent to fire her."

"I remember that this girl puked her lunch out because the principal made her run laps for spilling water during lunchtime."

"That was just one of the many crimes she committed during that year. I was fed up with it, so I wanted to find anything and everything to use against her."

"Unfortunately, you did."

"Unfortunately."

For a moment the two paused in silence, contemplating their next words, heightening suspense.

"She was a victim of rape."

"Oh my, poor woman." Megumi quickly commented. "But--?"

"We had nothing else to use against her."

"That doesn't justify—"

"Was she hurt? Was she mentally traumatized? Was she in any way any less happier had she stayed? No. The answer to all those questions was a no." Kamatari argued, giving Kaoru a sincere and persuasive stare. "At that time, the entire school except for the faculty knew I was a guy. And we used that to our fullest advantage."

"So what happened?"

"Had I been straight, I might have been the luckiest guy alive. Kaoru please continue, the story. And make it good." Kamatari leaned back and yawned, stretching his hands up, giving the girls a proud glimpse of his abs.

Kaoru rolled her eyes, finally getting to the juice of it all. "Every girl in school liked Kamatari for what he was and we had no qualms fooling around with that fact." Kaoru giggled mischieviously. "First plan of action was to scare her a little bit. BUT FROM THIS MOMENT ON PEOPLE, what I say in this room STAYS IN THIS ROOM!!! Okay. The plan was to have Kamatari appear at certain places around the school in nothing but a pair of skinny jeans and a sexy phantom-of-the-opera mask. Yes he was shirtless, and very proud of it too! The principal or any annoying teacher would see and then he would run away and change into the schoolgirl uniform, making their search futile." Kaoru smiled. "The fun part is that everytime he would make an appearance, he was in the middle of an indecent act with one of the girls. For example, this girl Haruka would have her skirts up for Kamatari and their legs were all entwined."

"Ah yes, Haruka. She even asked if I was really gay afterwards. She seemed…_ disappointed._ Kamatari scoffed and laughed.

"Shut up, show off. Haruka was loose and we all knew it." Kaoru resumed the story. "Another time was when the principal walked in her office with Kamatari on top of the vice president of the student council."

"The lovely Suzuki. She had great legs…"

"Uhuh. There was another time when she went to use the bathroom and found Kamatari with his arms supporting a cheerleader's legs. And everytime, Kamatari would get away."

"Yeah. And I would go back to our little group of girls somewhere in my fuku skirt. But the best part of it all is that at every instance, any girl I was with would act like a true whore and _love it_. Because we weren't going for rape. We were going for indecency. Our principal was very big on virginity—"

"And we thought we could chase her away!"

"Yet alas, times became desperate. She wouldn't leave. So we adapted desperate measures. Our last and final act was on stage for the whole school to see. Literally."

"Everyone swear silence on pain of death RIGHT NOW." Kaoru said urgently. Once everyone had said their vows, she continued in a whispered, half-embarassed, half-thrilled, voice.

"The school play for that year, _by chance_, was Phantom of the Opera. Neither Kamatari nor I were chosen for the play but during the scene in the phantom's den, we switched places with the actors and…well… changed the plot completely."

"The teachers have seen it so many times during practice sessions, they didn't catch up on what was happening until Kaoru shouted:" Kamatari extended his hand to Kaoru.

"Oh ye gods, thy manhood is HUGE!!!!"

"…"

A loud burst of laughter erupted in Kaoru's bedroom. Two forgotten characters almost fell of the ledge.

"Kaoru was wearing nothing but red skanky lingerie and a mask that we purchased for that very purpose. Our school was well funded, so it was on the big screen on top of the stage."

"We enacted a pretty great scene."

"Come on Kaoru, you can say the word."

"We…you know…we.."

"Kaoru and I had a two-minute romp on stage, got showed it all upclose on the big screen, and even showed a little boobage!"

"Argh, you had to include that!"

"I think the janitor recognized you." Kamatari joked back, as he ducked a hair dryer. "The lingerie didn't fit her well and she literally burst out at the top. You were a B-cup then right?"

"That is none of your business! Anyways, we got away with it. Luckily for us, the superintendent was present in the audience and fired the principal, who actually was going to quit that very same day. They figured out it was Kamatari a little later, but the superintendent actually knew his dad"

"WHICH WAS THE WEIRDEST THING"

"I agree, and she pardoned Kamatari."

"That was our best prank. I think the world became a better place. No dumb evil principal. I had exposure to the female sex and became surer of my choice. Kaoru went a little wild…"

"Oh shut up. At least this time there wasn't a tape involved." Kaoru retorted smugly. Yet a small silence ensued after her statement. She turned around only to see that Kamatari was holding up several pictures of her felony.

"NO!"

"If that red-head boyfriend of yours ever saw these—"

"ACHOO!!!!"

Motion stopped and time slowed down. All faces turned towards the window, one of them ghostly pale.

"We're dead."

* * *

Kenshin sported a huge black eye in the morning. They were all ready to go out and accompany Kamatari to the airport. The boys weren't allowed to sleep nor to go home. They were tied up like dogs right outside the bathroom and had no air conditioner for the rest of the night. After several threats of death and torture in the morning, they were finally let go, but weren't allowed to eat anything for breakfast but uncooked ramen in water…Kaoru's specialty for them.

Kenshin was merely waiting with Sano for the rest of the girls when he heard a loud gasp emit from the living room.

"Kamatari…" Kaoru's voice, breathless and wavering, sounded so nervous and excited at the same time.

"Yes, Kao-chan?"

"Its. Huge."

"I know…"

"Ca—can I touch it?" She stammered, her hesitancy borne from the excitement that seemed to bubble out of her throat.

"Of course Kao-chan, that's why I'm showing it to _you and only you_, after all." Secrecy was never more an invigorating prospect to the two friends.

"It's sooo velvety…and smooth…did I mention huge?"

"Now, Kaoru, be careful of the assets. A little too eager are we?"

"Oh please, Kamatariiiiii. Don't tease me"

"Well, why don't you try it on for size?"

Kenshin could almost see how her eyes widened in the small silence that ensued after that. It was only with Sano's headlock that he remained completely quiet through this scandalous conversation…

"Oh…Kami-sama!"

"You like how it feels, Kao-love?"

"Yes… I can't…believe… this… fits." She choked.

"You're sex on he—Whoops! Watch it there, how about I hold you up?"

Kaoru must have nodded her assent for Kenshin heard nothing but a slight moan.

"Soooo nice…"

"You need to let go to really enjoy it, sweetness." Kamatari purred.

"Okay" she whispered.

Kamatari made a small growl and Kaoru giggled in return.

"Work it baby, work those hips."

"I can't believe, I'm doing this."

"Come on kitten, why don't you seduce me?"

Kenshin broke free with the sudden surge of energy to kill the man that was destroying his Kaoru's innocence. "ALL RIGHT, That is it! I will not sit silent and tolerate your influencing—"

He burst in only to find Kaoru still in her clothes on the very far side of the room, her rear end jutted out deliciously towards the man who was sitting calmly on the sofa. She had both her hands on her knees as she assumed a pose that would forever haunt Kenshin's dreams—that is, until he finally sees something better.

"Jou-chan? Why are you so tall?" Sano had finally walked in with hand in his pocket. A grim line of amusement stood as the only expression on his face.

Kamatari stood up and walked over to Kaoru, who had adopted a vase as a weapon. He took the occupied hand, pried the vase out of it and kissed her wrist. He then picked up one of her legs to show to the two.

"Shoes."

The boys sweatdropped.

"Five-inch, leather, Made-in-Italy, with the exquisite ability to make any wearer to personify the phrase 'sex-on-heels.'" Kamatari said as he bent down to scrutinize the things on Kaoru's feet.

Kenshin grunted when he saw Kamatari assume a position that Kaoru would never have allowed any other guy to be in. Kamatari had the ability to merely lift up his eyes and see up her skirt. But he didn't. What he did instead, made Kenshin wish that he would just look up and get it over with.

With a graceful hand, Kamatari resumed his explanation as he traced Kaoru's ankles.

"See how it glorifies the natural curvature of her feet. That slight dip right here," Kamatari traced up from the ankles and to the curves of her calves, "emphasizes the calves." He wrapped both hands around her lower leg and dragged it up to her knees "its unique design also supports the knee." Finally Kamatari stood up and turned Kaoru around so that her back faced the two "and plumps out her nice a—I mean butt," he quickly amended when he saw the smoldering gleam of murder that Kenshin elicited. It didn't stop him, however, from patting said butt just for the heck of it.

Kenshin growled. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY KAORU!"

Kaoru's face contorted into several expressions, finally resting on the face that had just encountered pure blasphemy.

"I won the bet, sweetness." Kamatari announced smugly to the girl beside him. Kaoru ignored Kamtari's words and proceeded her initial instinct of hurting the red-head.

"Himura. Let me give you three reasons why this vase" she took the vase from where Kamatari had set it down "is about to mar your pretty head. Number one…"

Kaoru started to stalk towards Kenshin, who started to step backwards when he heard that particularly murderous tone.

"You have been eavesdropping when I specifically told you to never do it again yesterday! It hasn't even been a full 24 hours yet." Kaoru wrapped one hand around the long neck of the vase as Kenshin stepped further away from her predatory body.

"Two, for you to burst in saying what you said, only Kami knows what indecent thoughts you were thinking of me, and I do not tolerate such an insult." Kenshin could feel the looming presence of the thick wall behind him, his breath hitched as Kaoru pointed the vase towards his chest. Kenshin then saw how thick the glass of the vase was, and how it could easily break _his_ skull with the proper force behind it.

"Number three. Let me make myself clear once again, Himura."

"…"

"You. Will. Call. Me. 'Kamiya.'"

And with that she wielded the thing like a bokken and broke it on his head.

"ARE WE CLEAR?"

"Hai!" He somehow managed, as his eyes swirled around.

Kaoru 'harrumphed' and threw the remaining piece of the long vase towards Sano as she shouldered him out of the way to exit the living room. Kamatari tagged along with an almost disbelieving look on his face.

As they walked out of the house, Sano could only make out Kamatari's amused voice.

"I would never have believed your mother's words had I not seen it with my own eyes. Little Kaoru is all grown-up _and _domesticated—" Kamatari's words ended in an abrupt halt. Sano winced at the sound of how the weapon made contact with Kamatari. He could only guess it to be a blunt non-glass object.

Nevertheless, Sano grinned. Kaoru had _only mentioned three_ reasons and _the most assumedly obvious reason to bash Kenshin's head into a pulp had __**not **__been one of them_. He supported the redhead as they picked their way out of the house.

"Hey, Kenshin, guess what!"

"Oro?" Kenshin's eyes had not stopped swirling.

"You own Kaoru."

The redhead made a mischievious smile before finally closing his eyes, letting Sano drag him back to his house.


	6. The Not So Tomboyish Side

A/N: This is going to be very different from the past episodes. I suggest reading episode two again because it explains Kaoru's bad temper in the morning of this overly-winded story. I'm trying to look at how my writing style has changed, so bear with me.

By the way _italics_ denotes the character's thoughts. _**Bold italics**_denote strong emphasis on how the character feels about said thoughts. Heh. If the stuff is in quotes, then that means the person is actually saying it out loud.

* * *

**The not-so-tomboyish side of Kaoru Kamiya**

The intensity of her clock's alarm quickly increased as the seconds passed by her in her semi-conscious state. _Mou. Dreams should never end. Especially on school days._ She further drowned her head into a myriad of pillows, but inevitably, she had to get rid of the _beeping._Howeverthe more she moved her arm towards reality (to bash her 61st alarm clock into the wall) the more she realized that she was slowly banishing her dream-phantom lover by her side….

_LOVER?_

She quickly sat up straight to re-analyze her thoughts. _What?_ _A lover? Me? With a guy?_ At this simple rhetorical question posed by the conscious part of her brain, the last few grains sleeping dust were shaken away from the corner of her eyes as she exploded into a hysterical/half-teary guffaw. _I must have eaten something weird last night._ That must have been it. She already had her "monthly girl thing," she recalled as she absently licked at her lips at the slight feeling of…

The small rememberance of…

Kenshin's kiss? 

_WHAT?_

She reeled at the very thought of remembering that very feeling—_noooo! It was a__**crime! **__Me no have feelings!—_of that event at the present moment. Still a little shaken from her dream that night—some of it she had to suppress willfully—she knew this was probably the worst time to bring up such a fond—_**disgusting!—**_memory. She shook her head and proceeded with her daily routine, letting her steps fall a little more heavily on the floor, stomping about her bed, as she beat the pillows healthily into unrecognizable pulps, and passing of her poor skills at folding the sheets into perfect rectangles. After a few minutes of "making her bed," she felt a little better but knew that she should probably use cold water for her shower that morning.

"Stupid hormones… la la la la…." She sang loudly in the shower to a tune that could have been melodious, had not spite and revulsion laced her usually pretty singing voice. As she vigorously dried herself off with a towel, her treacherous mind suddenly reverted back to the thought of a certain red-head.

_Why is he always in my head? Even in the shower!_

At that last statement, Kaoru turned an unhealthy color of crimson, her blood rushing and forcing the healthy color of her skin turn with the boiling of her blood. She rushed herself back into the shower and violently turned on the cold water. After spending more than an hour in her bathroom, Kaoru ran through her kitchen and out the door with her bag in hand, praying to God that whatever embarrassing thoughts she had in her house would stay in her house.

But that was not to be borne. Rounding the corner that separated her street from the road that led to school, she held back the urge to scream when the first person she encountered just happened to be _him_.

"KAMIYA—" 

"Encountered" actually is a bit of an understatement, for Kaoru crashed into Kenshin Himura with full force, belatedly realizing that she had put in on a pair of useless flats, instead of her trusty sneakers, in her haste to arrive on time. 

What was more, the coupled landed in probably one of the most inappropriate positions imaginable. A position that would have made a certain rooster-head proud, but a raccoon-girl seething in her uncontrollable urge to kill. Kaoru straddled Kenshin's chest with her legs, her chest pressed firmly into his face. Kenshin, in his attempt to keep Kaoru from hurting herself, had wrapped his arms around her waist, but because of sheer momentum, Kaoru's body lounged itself forward as they fell to the ground, letting his hands come contact with her very soft rear. 

So it would _seem_ as if Kenshin was holding her down, straddled on his chest, with his nose buried deeply into her assets. Yet Kenshin's motivations had always been honorable.

Not that it helped him out of a beating.

"You will NOT say a single word of this!" She hissed as she poked him with a very strong finger. Kenshin lifted his head as best as he could. He now sported a large lump on his forehead, but he sighed and knew that he probably deserved it after he squeezed—

"YES!" He hurriedly replied as Kaoru tweaked his left ear, knowing that his "thoughts" were "distracting" him.

"Pervert" she muttered as she stomped away, knowing full well, that Professor Hiko would not be pleased at her tardiness.

Kenshin sighed once more as she followed her a few paces behind. He hoped the day would turn out to be better than could be expected. After all, he already got his quota of one-lump-a-day from Kaoru, surely that was enough. He gingerly felt around the back of his head to see if the Kamatari-lump had gone down yet, and sure enough, 24 hours was more than enough to let his body heal at her attempt to murder him last Saturday. 

School was hard that day on Kenshin. With Hiko's daily pestering and Kaoru's glares of "_be silent on pain of death,_" Kenshin was immensely relieved when the lunch bell rang and Sano came over to his desk with his rice and beef.

"You sick?"

"What gave you that idea?" Sarcasm was never a language that Kenshin normally used. He saved it for the occasional stressful math exams that Hiko enjoyed torturing him with. But today was special. Today was the Kaoru-hates-me day of the week, and those days tended to last long and painful.

"I just had a feeling. Plus that bump on your forehead must make thinking feel like needles."

"A feeling that you must be very familiar with, Rooster." Megumi popped out of nowhere with her pink Tupperware lunch of sushi/sashimi/and everything else delicious in Sanosuke's eyes. "And yes, Sano, but you can only have the egg," she also offered Kenshin some, but he refused it with a heavy heart. Nothing could tempt him. Nothing but blue eyes, pink lips, soft curvatures of beautiful skin…

"Pervert." Misao poked Kenshin in the head, waking him up from a very obvious fantasy. "Kaoru told me. She hates you today, thought you might like to know."

"Thank you, weasel, for stating the obvious." Megumi slapped Sano's hand away from the rest of her lunch, though she promptly handed him the whole container after she helped herself to one more piece. "You know what your problem is Kenshin?"

"What?"

"You need to be patient."

"I know that—it's just that, she hasn't even answered—"

"What about last weekend? She never said she didn't _want_ to be your girlfriend—"

"I might as well conclude that the world is flat because she never said it was round either." Kenshin murmured, knowing full well that the absence of a denial did not mean a confession of affection. But his words went over Sano's head.

"But the world _is_round." Sano said, his mouth stuffed with raw fish.

"Rooster, save the logic to those who are capable. Look, Kenshin, don't be so desperate. It's coming, I can feel it."

"Feel what?"

"Kaoru is folding." Misao broke in, with a seriously scary, cunning smile.

* * *

Clubs were, for Kaoru Kamiya, a sustainable outlet of negative energy. Running around from kendo to gardening, she was annoyed at the fact that she still felt restless. Her mind bordering on the edge of a scene in her dream that night. She sighed, she was going to have to take up on Misao's offer to walk downtown just so she could escape the confines of her mind a little longer for that day.

" I know exactly what you need!" Misao half-dragged her into the bookstore with a squeal that should have set Kaoru's self-defense alarms off. But she was so out of it that day, with almost all of her energy dedicated at being distracted from errant thoughts, that she hardly knew where Misao was dragging her until Misao shoved her into an aisle and cried _voila!_

Kaoru blinked. Once. Twice. _And ran for dear life_.

With the intention of buying a book to calm her nerves and beat her mind with until sleep came, Kaoru had gone with Misao, fully trusting her. A miscalculation that landed her in the Romance section.

"**No!**" Kaoru squeaked as Misao tried to drag her back, her blush reaching all the way down into her shirt. She ducked and scampered away, closing her eyes before she saw the titles and some of the rather risqué book covers. She ran to the shelf right behind, and like an idiot, peeked around to see if anybody saw her. Misao followed her amusedly and watched her as she leaned back on the bookshelf. 

She was pacing up and down that isle and muttering to myself. One of the cuter associates, who once helped her look for _Social Contract_ and_Candide_ for a reading assignment gave both of them a glance of curiosity. Thankfully, no sign of recognition sparked in his face as he raised an eyebrow at Kaoru's skittish wave.

Misao just chuckled.

_Back to the problem at hand._

"What in the world are you doing, you pathetic idiot? It's just the Romance section. You act like you've never seen a sports magazine or even picked up to look at a book summary by one of those best sellers you see at the grocery store." Misao said quietly, yet fanatically, as she shook Kaoru by the shoulder.

"But I don't mean to actually BUY one."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong with that... it's EMBARASSING."

"You know what's embarassing? A high school student who still cowers in the face of a kissing scene and passes the remote to someone else so they could fast-forward the DVD."

"whimper"

"And that's not all. Take a bite at this. If you want to define embarassing," Misao put her hands to her hips as she continued, "what about a completely innocent, soon-to-be-legal-not-allowed-to-drive-alone girl who can't even stomach to be in the ROMANCE AISLE!"

Kaoru made further pathetic sounding noises before she got her voice to work. The very thought of reading those books shakes her bones. "But those authors. They play on a superficial field. I can't even believe they get published with some of the trash they put out. Romance is good. But when it just exploits the body's cravings as its basis, its outright blasphemy to the name of prose! Prose tickles the mind, it's purpose is not to scintillate the body just so it could sell. Same thing with movies, Hollywood uses sex to sell." Kaoru ended with a smug grin at the end of her impromptu defense.

"Oh yeah? Why then do you read fanfiction?"

BLUSH! "We are not talking about that, MISAO! That is below the belt."

"Heh. Thought so. We both know you're a late bloomer. Look at you, you're blushing like a thirteen-year old who has yet to get her first kiss."

"Uhhh..."

"Never mind the half-true analogy. GET TO IT! You asked for a recommendation, you go get it. Why—"

"OKAY! I'll just get it over with." Kaoru hurriedly said as the associate started to become more interested in the noise they were making in the Religious Section.

Kaoru, feeling retarded to the fullest extent, tiptoed and tried her best to look like she can handle it. Fully aware of Misao's amused gaze, she pulled out her acting skills and embodied the word "nonchalant." _I am a sophisticated young lady who had a healthy appetite, and I am freakin' proud of it._ With the mantra stuck in her head, she recited it to herself repeatedly as she looked through the titles. She snorted at some books, taking her time as she looked and lifted her chin at a couple of the covers she saw. Until she got the section she was looking for. Kaoru muttered a curse or two when she saw the cover of the book Misao recommended. It was edgy enough that the title was avant-garde, but the cover screamed SEXUALITY all over it._Red…and a couple __**necking**_ Kaoru's face turned pale.

And at that very moment, she experienced her first heart-attack. Or something similar but worse.

Kenshin Himura sneaked up behind her and laid his hands over her eyes, whispering into her ear "_Surprise!" _Kaoru reacted violently, almost jumping out of her skin and bumping against the shelf behind her. If it had not been Kenshin's steady hands around her waist (again), she would have landed painfully on her back. "Sorry, Kamiya. I didn't know you were so jumpy today." He held her near him as she tried to breathe, the tension in her body slowly oozing away as she became comfortable in his hold. 

"Kenshin! What are you—"

"Sujimora asked if I could cover for him today, so I guess I'm here working. How about you? Did you just finish with gardening club?"

"Er. Yes! I was just uh looking for a book."

"I see. Which one are you holding now?" Kenshin asked curiously, genuine in his questions. Kaoru tensed up once again and acted wholly unlike herself.

"Oh this! Haha. Haha. Haha." She laughed weakly, holding the book up so that Kenshin could only see the book, "this is nothing. Just something I thought I could read tonight and—"

"Vampire romances, huh?" 

"WHAT?" Kaoru squeaked. "No! Is—is that what this is?" She pointed at the book, sorely hoping for Misao to save the day. But the weasel girl had disappeared.

_I will kill her._

Kenshin remained silent and watched her reaction carefully.

"Kenshin, it's not what you think." Kaoru said dejectedly, knowing that she had been caught red-handed. "It's just—"

"You know Kamiya, there is something better than just reading about _it_." Kenshin leered at her as he leaned a shoulder on one of the shelves.

"You, Kenshin Himura, are a pervert." She threw the book at him, which he caught with grace, to Kaoru's utter disappointment.

"At least I don't_read _about making out."

Kaoru's blood boiled once more. The hormones. The pressure. The frustration that her body was taking was something she was not about to put up with once more. With nary another word, she pushed Kenshin up on the shelves and kissed him.

_Ginger. I can almost swear I've done this before…_

"Kaoru…" the voice murmured between breaths…

A distant beeping suddenly went off in some part of her mind.

_Huh?_

His hands went_everywhere_ _and more. _She reveled at his touch and tried her damned hardest to ignore the….

_beeeeeep beeeeeeeep beeeeeeeeeeeeeep BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!_

"WHAT?"

Kaoru sat up from her bed, her fisted hand held a badly treated, yet new book, as she banged her (62nd) alarm clock.

"Oh no…" _No no no no…_

Kaoru didn't know what to feel. Disappointment in herself at the fact that she was dreaming about _him_. Or disappointment at the fact that she had to wake up. And so, for the second time that week, she went into a cold shower with turmoil in her mind, her head pounding, and her eyes bloodshot.

_What is wrong with me?_

She could remember the book trip. She remembered buying the book. She even remembered talking to Himura at the bookstore that day. But she also remembered that he never realized what she had in her hand. She also remembered that Misao _had_ saved her by confusing Himura with some riddle or another, allowing her to leave the book store with what was left of her dignity. 

"Drown me now. Please." She begged the shower as she realized that reading the book only worsened her state. She got out of the shower and padded around the house listlessly for a few minutes. She finally got to the kitchen when she saw a post-it note from her mother. 

"I went shopping yesterday. I bought something for you and it's in the living room, hope this brings your moods up! – Love Mom"

Kaoru smiled. Her mother was great and all-knowing. She wondered what her mother had in store for her this time as she padded in her bunny slippers and bathrobe towards the sofa. She looked at the pink packaging and realized with shock that her mother had bought her something from Victoria's Secret. With trepidation, she looked and saw that she was now the owner of the latest silk-lace black bra and matching panties.

Moments passed and Kaoru _laughed_.

_Maybe this might work. It's crazy enough._ With a silent thanks to her mother, Kaoru started to get dressed.

Feeling confident and knowing that she would one day conquer the world, she marched into school with grace and prowess. She could feel the stares of the boys she knew that liked her from since they first saw her, but she could also feel one particular set of amethyst eyes settle on her as she took her seat. _Who would've thought I could get a buzz from wearing expensive underwear? Kaoru, you're so weird._ She chuckled sexily to herself as Hiko entered the room. He raised an eyebrow at Kamiya's relaxed form and smiled to himself, knowing that the baka deshi was in for another weird day.

Lunch came around, and Kaoru still had the buzz. And like animals, a lot of boys seemed to gravitate towards her. _As if they could smell sexy underwear. That is pretty weird._ She flipped her hair with the sophistication of a model and smiled mysteriously at a boy she barely know, then almost as suddenly went back to her lunch and ignoring said boy for the rest of the day. She did this to many of her classmates, so much so that they were all half in love with her by the end of the day.

Kenshin, however, was on the prowl. Something was up with Kaoru. And it was true he could _smell _something, he just didn't know what. When he asked Megumi, once again, what in the world was happening, she mentioned something about pheromones and animal instincts and some other National Geographic terms that Kenshin was convinced that Megumi was merely toying with his mind. What he did get from her was a sense that Kaoru was going to be coveted _territory_, and that he better mark his boundaries well. With one glance, he deferred any of the other boys from being smart with him and made sure they kept their gazes to themselves. Sano was amused but left it that. He knew it was all Misao's and Megumi's doing, but he also knew that Kaoru's flirtatious, albeit, seductive actions for the day were still done on her own whim—she wasn't a puppet. 

Kendo was wonderful that afternoon. Kaoru was glorious. She beat her opponents with her will and in a minute, she had them on the ground. She was so in-tuned with her body, that she even challenged Hiko. Her body buzzing still with energy, she mildly wondered if her bra was showing through her sweaty white shirt, but she quickly dismissed it when she heard Hiko's calm denial of her challenge.

"Kamiya, I advise you to cool down. Take a shower."

"Coach Hiko, it's only been thirty minutes. Please let me fight someone else."

Hiko massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed. He looked at her again and looked behind him at a boy, he knew, that probably ached to fulfill her desire.

"Teenagers." Hiko muttered as he gestured towards Kenshin Himura. "You and Kamiya are almost at the same level, so I might as well let you guys spar again. It'd be cruel of me if I let her beat any of the other boys. Try to tire her out quickly, Himura, you still have eighteen laps to go."

Kenshin grinned at his master. He knew Hiko and Hiko knew him. Both knew that Kenshin would never lose control of his strength and would spar honorably.

And so it began. It started out as a slow generous dance. As the fighters gained speed, the parries became more hurried, the offense more vicious. Suddenly a series of jumping around was seen and in a blur, the fight became the most animated spar the students had ever seen since the beginning of school. It took long, but in the end—and to everybody's surprise—Kaoru sat on Kenshin's chest, straddling him with her bokken pointed underneath his chin.

When Kaoru looked down to give him a smug grin, a small gasp escaped her petite mouth. Kenshin looked at her with an unwavering amber gaze and she had the slightest inclination that if he could, he _would eat her_. A shiver went down her spine, and she knew it was not from fear. And then everything went _black._ Or _white._ It didn't really matter, because Kaoru suddenly felt like dying and being born again at the same time the minute she leaned down and sealed Kenshin's lips with a kiss. She could feel her own sweat dripping down onto his shirt, and his hands keeping her steady as she sat on his stomach, thoroughly going at it with all her lack of experience.

A sound at the back of her head slightly disturbed her from truly focusing on Kenshin's hands…

_**BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!**_

_**WHAT IS GOING ON WITH ME!**_

Kaoru threw her alarm clock out the window. _Okay rewind. What actually happened yesterday?_

Kaoru realized that she didn't have kendo yesterday, so everything from that point on was moot. Though she did remember looking at Kenshin at one point in the day and wondering if his eyes were really amber. 

"Maybe I'm being haunted… I should ask Megumi. Although…"

The thought of confessing her less than angelic thoughts to the vixen made her cringe. It was probably worse than taking a cold shower on purpose, which she was currently trying to brave through once again, a third time that week.

_This seriously needs to end though._

So at lunch, she forcefully dragged Megumi to the clinic for a "talk."

"WHAT is wrong_now_?"

"I have several questions, fox. I think you might actually enjoy answering them, though I doubt I'll even survive this talk with any pride left…"

"Uhuh… so talk. I want to eat already."

"I've been having…er… _weird _dreams."

"Ooookay… so?"

"And in those dreams… well, I always seem to end up uh…being physical with someone."

"Kaoru. You're always physical with someone. Just a while ago, you pushed Sanosuke out of the corridor windows."

"No that's not what I meant. I meant… _**physical**_..."

"You mean kendo? Or killing someone?"

"No no! The opposite of that…"

"_Healing_someone? Oh for Kami's sake, Kaoru say it!"

"I end up kissing Kenshin in my dreams!"

"…"

"…"

"… … … OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO"

"Stop it, Megumi, its making me miserable."

"Why? Because it can't come true?"

"Because I'm so confused. I don't even like him like that—"

"Oh come off it! You had the biggest crush on him when you moved in last year."

"I got over him really quick."

"Only because he bullied you. Now he's being nice, maybe you're beginning to like him again."

"Yeah, but I didn't use to dream about him like this. I didn't use to dream like this ever!"

"Maybe you're growing up? Remember when Misao and I used to go underwear shopping last year, and you failed miserably to fill up a real bra?"

"Haha, this is neither the time or place to bring this up. Megumi, what is happening to me?"

"Maybe some unconscious part of you is really attracted to him, which is why you always dream about him. Have you considered answering him yet? You know, he asked you out IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR? What is it now? Second semester…"

Kaoru looked down at the floor with a grim expression. Somehow she knew this was going to come back and haunt her. She massaged the bridge of her nose with her thumbs and forefinger, mumbling about how she didn't have the time nor the energy for a boyfriend.

"Really? Then why don't you just say no?"

"…I don't know. I mean, I think I did, but I also said I'd think about it."

"So say no, already."

"I've thought about it and…I just don't want to say no."

"So say yes."

"But I don't have time for that. I don't—"

"So you like him?"

"I… I don't know."

"That's your problem. You don't know. And something in you is probably guilty or confused or both about the whole ordeal. Maybe your brain is trying to help you out?"

"By making me dream about him in _that_ way?" she snapped.

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy _any_ of it," Megumi retorted.

Kaoru blushed hard.

"There's your answer. You are physically attracted to him, but you're not sure if it's enough to base a relationship on."

"So what does that mean?"

Megumi sighed. This wasn't good at all, she hoped secretly for Kenshin that Kaoru was deeply and emotionally attracted to him, but it seemed that whatever infatuation she might have had for him before was stunted by her own hang-ups as a seriously unguided child. 

"You should be nice to him, and make a decision. Tell him you'd rather just be friends for now."

"So tell him no?"

"Yup."

"But… I don't want to tell him no."

"It's nicer than leading him on—making him hope that you would say yes."

"But what if I do want to say yes… but not yet."

"Then tell him that."

"… okay." 

* * *

It was awkard. Kaoru was standing with her back to him, and he was behind her trying his damned hardest to comprehend what she was trying to say.

"So you're not saying no."

"Right."

"But you're not saying yes, either."

"Uhuh."

"I don't understand."

Kaoru sighed. This had been the third time.

"Kenshin. Can we not just be friends?"

"Well, Kaoru, in the real world, an offer to just be friends in return for the offer to be one's girlfriend usually means 'no' to said offer. So by friends, you mean you're really saying no?"

"_No!_"

"NO WHAT?"

"Kenshin, listen very carefully." Kaoru turned around with her face scrunched up in a most confused manner. Her face was red and she had her eyes closed in an attempt to block the view of his well-sculpted face in the sun's last rays. "I _like _you. I really _really __**like**_you. But I do not want to go out with you."

Kenshin ran his hand through his hair again. His patience was wearing thin. "Kaoru, for a moment, can we pretend that there is no possible way for you to hurt my feelings. Because, really, it's been so long since I asked anyways, it's not like I have any feelings left. So please, just come right out and say it."

"I AM SAYING IT!"

"That you don't want to go out with me."

"I do want to go out with you."

"So are you?"

"No."

"Oh. So you're not going to go out with me?"

"No."

"But you want to."

"Yes."

"Kaoru?"

"Hmm?"

"Open your eyes." Kenshin inched closer and cupped both her hands in his. She in turn slowly opened one eye after the other.

"I am deeply arrested by you. Everything about you wants me to be a better person and makes me feel like I _am _a better person just by being with you. And I always want to see you smile. Now tell me, do you feel somewhat similar about me?"

"…Yes"

"Okay. I understand."

Kenshin dropped her hands and schooled his once vulnerable face into a relentlessly emotionless one. He put on a fake dummy smile and gave back Kaoru her own personal space. He nodded at her, as a form of goodbye.

"See you tomorrow, Kamiya."

He turned around and walked down his street, not looking back.

She whispered goodnight, not realizing that she had put her heart on hold.

* * *

This really is how this episode ends. But stay tuned. Aoshi will come to the rescue! 


End file.
